The Vacation
by XrhiaX
Summary: Zuko decides to go on a mission disguised as a vacation, and drags Katara along with him, deep into the slums of Ba Sing Se, the Firelord finds comfort in being Lee again. However Katara, also known as TeiLyn, is less enthusiastic. Zutara.
1. Chapter 1: Refugees

Zuko rubbed his hands enthusiastically. He'd been out of firebending practice for three months and Katara had decided it was okay for him to start bending again, as long as he didn't do anything stupid like a crazy blitz or something. He surveyed his surroundings. The Agni Kai arena; This had been where he and Azula had fought for the job Zuko sometimes hated. Maybe that had been the reason Azula had been off her game; the stresses of the job.

Then again, she'd never been quite … quite _right_.

Zuko let a small flame through his nostrils as he breathed. Katara stepped back from him momentarily, allowing herself to smile slightly. Zuko scooped down low and shot a rich orange burst of flame out of his fist as he balanced himself on his knee. Katara crossed her arms with a raise of the eyebrow and a half-smirk. Zuko's excuse for this had been that he didn't want to get out of practice for their upcoming vacation, to which Katara had replied;

"You firebend in Ba Sing Se and we'll get thrown out in a second flat." She'd eventually given in and allowed him a practice session before their departure the following day.

Maybe Zuko was right; if worse came to worse, being in practice would be a good precaution with the task they'd been requested to perform. After all, the slums of Ba Sing Se were still ripe with crime, and that was where they'd be staying for a change.

"_Blasting jelly by the ton was bought by a collection of people in the lower ring, we suspect it's the Dai Li rebels." Uncle read from the letter in his hand._

"_Well after the last attempt to blow up the Earth palace failed, it was natural to assume they'd try again." Zuko ran his hand over his face. "Besides, if needed I can go Blue Spirit."_

"_It is very dangerous, nephew. The nation can not afford to lose the Firelord in such delicate times of change." Iroh put the letter down and eyed the young man._

"_I've got my swords, and Katara will be right there if I need the help." Zuko glanced across the room to Katara, who had been roped into a spy trip to Ba Sing Se. Zuko was desperate to get out of the palace, even if it meant staying in some dirty grimy shack in the low ring of Ba Sing Se._

"_Zuko, do you not realize how improper it is for a Firelord to inhabit the slums of the most poverty-stricken area of the world? The council will berate you for months!" Iroh's eyebrows seemed to get higher and higher, reaching for his hairline._

"_I'm sick of this place, uncle!" Zuko shot to his feet. "We'll call it a vacation."_

"_Zuko." Iroh stood up. "Your parents idea of vacation was an Ember Island retreat, and your grandfather's idea was killing dragons, but never, _never_, has a Firelord-,"_

"_My idea of a vacation is _not _having to cater to the council's whims and worries." Zuko sighed heavily. "And I'm completely recovered; you can ask Katara." Zuko and Iroh glanced at Katara, who nodded briefly._

"_What is your opinion? You've been awfully silent." Iroh looked at her confusedly._

"_I think it sounds like a vacation; the formalities and dresses are starting to get petty." Katara explained with a slight smile. "So, if Zuko wants to play tea-boy again, I'll play ball with him."_

_Zuko smiled at her before looking back to Iroh. "Will you please just stand in for a few weeks?"_

_Iroh sighed and nodded. "I expect you will be careful, Zuko. I will not bury another young man in my lifetime." He said as he left the room._

_Zuko glanced after his uncle, roughly recalling the older man's breakdown after his son's death in the Ba Sing Se siege. Odd, really, that if he were to die on this mission, not that he was expecting to, it would be in Ba Sing Se._

"_He has a point." Katara blinked slowly and seemed to relax slightly._

_Zuko shrugged at this. "Does Aang know you volunteered for this?" he changed the subject._

"_No." she snapped quickly. "Why?"_

_Zuko tailed off the subject, seeing as she was oddly touchy about it. "Mind if I practice some firebending? I mean, I might as well be in practice, just in case."_

_Katara considered this for a moment. He'd been bandaged up for two months, and then been having half-clothed, hot, healing sponge baths to ease the discomfort that came with his wound._

"_You firebend in Ba Sing Se and we'll get thrown out in a second flat. But no, I don't mind." Katara smiled softly._

Zuko walked proudly up to Katara after his solo exercise session, sweating but smiling happily. Katara understood that; after three months being wrapped up and coddled to do nothing but make arrangements for new settlements and meetings, she could imagine beaming at the thought of bending again.

"So, when are we leaving?" Katara stretched her arms towards the reddening sky.

"Tomorrow." Zuko crossed his arms in front of himself.

Katara nodded and turned towards the palace with him. "Are we settled on where we're staying?"

Zuko pulled a face that made Katara uneasy. "Sort of," he replied.

"What do you mean _sort of_?"

"I mean there's no actual … _designated_ place, we're just going to have to wing it like everyone else in Ba Sing Se."

"You mean get a job and find a house by the first night we're there?" Katara stared at him. "Are you serious?"

"I know some people there. They'll probably take me back at the Jasmine Dragon without a problem." Zuko smiled momentarily at this.

Katara pulled a face, pushing the rouge curtains aside as they walked through the hall. "It's definitely a risk."

"You've camped out in the middle of a forest, how can you be this worried about whether or not we have a roof over our heads for one night?"

"Oh, you're confident we'll get a place after one night, then?" Katara smirked.

Zuko just shrugged again and put his hand on his door. "We need fake names. They know me by Lee there, so I'm sticking by that."

Katara looked up for a moment in thought. "Uh … I'll think of something."

Zuko nodded in thought. "See you tomorrow."

Katara smiled slightly and left for her room, which was coincidentally Azula's old room. She shut and locked the door behind herself, before diving onto the bed. Perhaps she was making a mistake in going to Ba Sing Se. After all, Ba Sing Se hadn't changed at all since the end of the war. They seemed not to acknowledge the war had even begun or ended. Long Feng and the Dai Li obviously still inhabited Ba Sing Se, even in they were no longer loyal to the Earth King. As no one had been able to prove the Lake Laogai base had ever existed, no one had been able to get it destroyed.

Katara disrobed and climbed under the sheets, before drifting into a heavy sleep that let her rise refreshed and energetic the next morning. She managed to rise with the sun, just as most people in the nation were.

She met Zuko for breakfast before boarding the airship that would carry them to a spot in the desert a mile out from Ba Sing Se. They changed into common Earth kingdom clothes and carried their own bags towards Ba Sing Se. Half a mile towards the city, Katara started complaining.

"How do they walk in these stupid shoes?" she dropped her rucksack and kicked her shoes off. "I already have blisters." She picked up the high-heeled shoe.

Zuko paused as she stuffed her shoes into her rucksack and pulled wooden sandals out. She picked up her bag again and continued, Zuko maybe two feet ahead of her.

"Think we have enough stuff to last us, _Lee_?" she eyed the huge walls of Ba Sing Se.

"No, but that's the point. Did you think of a name?"

Katara pulled her bag up higher onto her back. "Yeah, TeiLyn. It's better than nothing."

Zuko ran his hand through his messy hair, pushing it out of his face. They got to the large doors at the front of the city and were met by the scene of a huge crowd of refugees. Katara's lips parted at the panorama of people. Zuko nudged her to follow him and pushed through the crowd to get into a long line of people, leading up to a desk that housed a large woman with many facial flaws. Katara took not of what time it had been when they entered the city. The sun had been high up in the sky, indicating it was noon, if not earlier. They waited in line on their feet for an hour before they got remotely near the end of the line. Five people were between them and the desk.

Katara watched as the woman at the desk sent away a man that had been waiting for hours on end. He pleaded that he had left and returned for three days in a row, and Katara realized that she would have to win the woman over with some kind of flattery or bribery. When she asked Zuko about it, he explained how Iroh had gotten them into Ba Sing Se before. Katara moved close to him and explained quietly what her plan was.

"We'll get in easier if we say we're lovers. Just follow my lead." Katara stood behind him and put her hand on his arm.

Zuko bit back a blush and nodded.

Katara calculated each moment and as the person in front of them stepped towards the desk, Katara slid her arms around Zuko's waist and laid her head against his back, pretending to be exhausted. While she actually was quite tired, she was exaggerating to get in. Zuko immediately played ball and put his hand over where hers were linked around him.

"Next!" the woman called. Katara pretended to be shocked awake as she made sure the woman's attention was on them. Zuko tapped her hands with his gently and pulled her towards the desk.

Zuko cleared his throat, making sure he held Katara by the hand where the woman could see. Katara made her best effort to look especially tired.

"Name." the old woman raised an eyebrow.

"Lee Dei… and TeiLyn Wang." He had almost forgotten about the last names, and had thought quickly.

"And I suppose you're seeking refuge." She cleared her throat with a grating noise.

"We're very tired, ma'am, we've walked for miles in the desert." He answered, squeezing Katara's hand, trying to get her to help a little more.

"You and every other person here." The old woman glanced at Katara.

Katara stepped closer to Zuko, lifting her other hand to his arm and looking up at the woman with huge blue eyes. Zuko looked to Katara, avoiding the woman's gaze, trying to create an image that he was trying to comfort his exhausted girlfriend.

The woman made a noise that explained her decision, stamping two tickets and pushing them to the front of the desk. Zuko reached and took the tickets, smiling excitedly at Katara, who smiled thankfully at the woman. They walked away from the desk, still holding hands in case she was watching. They got onto the train and burst out in excitement as soon as they made sure they were the only ones on the car.

"That was _so _close!" she took a deep breath. "You … _you _were brilliant,"

Zuko smirked proudly. "You were right; we probably wouldn't have gotten through without the act."

Katara outstretched her hand in his, before realizing their hands were still linked.

"Oh, sorry." Zuko suddenly pulled his hand back and rubbed the back of his neck with it.

Katara smiled awkwardly and looked out the window as she saw the upper ring of Ba Sing Se pass by. She then saw the slums from the window and grimaced at the sight. They'd be lucky to find a place before nightfall; it somehow _looked_ overpopulated. The train stopped at a badly earthbent station to let them off. Katara's hair was tied back with a single gray ribbon, and a fair bit of her hair fell around her face as she and Zuko walked out into the streets. Beggars and tramps lined the road as they traveled down looking for a shop that was hiring. Katara quickly pointed out a modest yet large teashop with a sign that read 'Jasmine Dragon'.

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**A/N: I'm not sure, but I think the idea has been done, however I figured, 'why not'. I'm enthusiastic about the story line and I hope to update frequently. Keeping the faith alive, Zutarians!**

**A little bit of info on me: I haven't done fan fiction in a while, except for Grey's Anatomy, and even that has been neglected whilst I've been working on this and some other ATLA work. I recently dragged myself back into ATLA at the discovery of my true shipping. Yes, people, I indeed was a Kataang fan. Stone me if you may, but I have learnt the error of my ways and have decided to make amends and regain my honor (had to say that). So, after much research on Avatar, I became a Zutarian. I had always shipped Kataang, right from the start and to the end, but then I discovered one thing. Zuko was ... Zuko was now HOT. I reflected on this.**

**After much consideration, I started a fan fiction that turned cheesy, and opened the door for this. This should include the awkward, passionate Zuko/Katara romance that the series lacked for us. And don't ask me about Korra, because the concept completely barricades my now Zutarian beliefs. Argh.**

**Fave line ever? 'I'll save you from the pirates'. Oh, yeah. Lovin' his smug-ass princey self. Next chapter comin' up.**


	2. Chapter 2: Bitter Work

Katara quickly pointed out a modest yet large teashop with a sign that read 'Jasmine Dragon'. It looked familiar, and Katara recognized it from when she'd first seen Zuko and Iroh working at it. A small sign read 'hiring' on one of the closed doors. They walked up the steps towards it.

Zuko knocked on the door and waited for a reply. The door slid open and a small, elderly man leant in the gap between the door and frame.

"Excuse me, sir?" Zuko asked politely.

The man quickly shut the door and undid chains and locks before opening it wide.

"There's a sign that says-,"

"Oh, yes, yes, of course!" the man opened up with a huge voice that startled them. "Are you interested in the job?"

Zuko nodded, and looked to Katara, who also nodded.

"Can you make tea?"

Zuko nodded with a slight smile. How strange that he would be working in Uncle's teashop.

"When can you start?"

"Uh … we don't really have a place to stay tonight-,"

"Ah, you see, the place is in desperate need of cleaning and restocking. Ah, by the way, may I ask your names?"

"Of course. I'm Lee, and this is TeiLyn." Zuko smiled, glancing into the shop.

"Ah-ha, well, Lee, if one of you can start tidying up while the other heads out for some tea ingredients, I can find the key to my spare apartment." The man pulled some coins from his pockets and dumped a handful into Zuko's hand. He pulled a straw broom from the corner and shoved it at Katara, who took it confusedly. "I'm Mr. Dong, by the way. Now, where did I leave those keys last…?" he disappeared into the shop in mad search.

Katara realized how much cleaning the place needed, stepping in alongside Zuko. She glanced at him, her eyebrows close together in bewilderment. She looked around as Zuko waited for the man.

The man emerged from behind the counter. "Ah, not to worry, I'm sure they'll turn up as we tidy up. Alright, Lee, why don't you fetch the ingredients and I'll help TeiLyn straighten up."

Zuko nodded and smiled at Katara, who looked very uneasy. Zuko left the teashop and headed to where the market had been when he left Ba Sing Se. He stopped at an herb stall and purchased cinnamon, cocoa, mint, crushed raspberry and Echinacea powder, the five first herbs uncle had bought for the teashop. He got back to the shop not long later and the marble floors had been swept and Katara was putting the chairs on the floor. It looked a lot better since the green tablecloths were back on the table, and the lamps were lit on the walls. The only thing that made it look less than ready was the lack of a server, and then the rucksack that leant against the counter.

"Where is he?" Zuko asked, putting the bag of herbs on the uncluttered counter.

"He went upstairs." Katara answered, putting the last chair down.

Zuko leant against the counter and waited as Katara put the small candles out in the centers of the tables. Something about the candles being around made Zuko more comfortable in the situation. Katara crossed her arms and looked around the teashop. It looked ten times better than it had when they entered earlier. True, it was now dark out, but they'd be able to open tomorrow.

"Aha! Finally!" the man walked into the teashop with the key in his hand. A huge green piece of leather was attached to the key. "Oh, my, it looks excellent in here! Good job, TeiLyn!" he continued through the teashop towards the door. "Come, come!"

Katara grabbed her rucksack and marched out of the store, Zuko not far behind, his own bag in hand.

Mr. Dong led them about a hundred feet down the street to a tall apartment building. They followed him to the third floor where he unlocked a door and handed Zuko the key. He smiled and asked them to be at the teashop an hour after sunrise so they could open up shop, before leaving.

Zuko looked around at the apartment, dumping his bag. It was a dump. Katara dropped her bag next to Zuko's and glanced at the floor that creaked with each step. She sank down next to her bag and opened it. She welcomed the feeling of sitting down; she'd been on her feet since she got off the train. The train ride had only been ten minutes long, after an hour of standing around in line.

"So tired." She managed out, leaning her head onto her bag.

Zuko smiled slightly, still looking around. There was no furniture, just a stove in the main room and a shower in the bathroom. He couldn't quite find the words for the apartment, but it was a place to stay. He sat down on the other side of the bags and opened his, pulling out the sleeping bag inside. He rolled it out and looked back to Katara.

"Iroh was right; this _not _a vacation." She mumbled into her bag, pulling her own sleeping bag out. She put the rolled up sleeping bag out on the floor.

Zuko yawned and rested his head on the wall. He unbuttoned his dark green, high-necked vest and pulled it off, before rolling it up into a pillow for the night. He kicked his shoes off and put them side-by-side next to his conveniently green sleeping bag. He slid into it and tucked his shirt under his head.

Katara pulled the grey ribbon from her hair and pulled her feet from her sandals. She untied the dull green sash around her waist and shoved it into her bag. She pulled the knee-length green tunic off and checked her bag to make sure her mother's necklace was still there. She climbed into the sleeping bag and scrunched her tunic up under her head. She blinked in the dark before shutting her eyes completely. She was silent for a few minutes before opening her eyes.

"Zuko? Are you still awake?" she whispered, wiggling her toes to see if they were still there.

"Yeah." He answered with a yawn.

"Oh." Katara answered simply.

Zuko let out a single noise as a reply and turned his head into the rough shirt that irritated his scar. It really was a vacation for him, no council, no Mai, no peace meetings, and definitely no Aang always begging for more Firebending lessons. Not that he didn't love Mai; he did, she just really wanted him to marry her, and he wasn't quite ready to even buy the ring yet.

Katara saw her breath becoming mist in front of her as she steadied her breathing to try to heat herself up. She eventually curled up into a ball and held her toes in her hands. She drifted into a soft sleep and woke up at the sun shining into her face. Zuko was already up and in the shower. He emerged from the bathroom dressed, roughly rubbing his head with the towel. Katara was not fully dressed and her hair fell around her shoulders in a tangled mess.

He choked back a laugh at her shabby appearance as she disappeared into the bathroom with her clothes in her arms, shutting the door with a loud click that made a little more paint chip off the wall above the door. Zuko dropped the towel and ran his fingers through his wet hair, heating his hands just enough to evaporate the moisture in his dark locks, not enough for the orange glow of warmth to show over his skin.

Katara stormed out of the bathroom fully dressed, her hair completely dry and a homicidal look on her face.

"You used up all the hot water." She grumbled, grasping her fists tight and glaring at him.

Zuko apologized briefly, pushing his feet into his shoes and stuffing the key and the last of their money into his pocket. They took off towards the teashop and got there as Mr. Dong was opening the doors wide.

"Ah, good morning!" he seemed very cheerful. Why wouldn't he be? His teashop was clean and ready for business and all he'd done so far was let them stay in his crappy apartment.

A painted sign now read in the window; 'grand reopening'.

Something about it made Zuko question of he was ready to go back to serving people after having servants come to do his hair and polish his crown and having his food brought to him in bed. Katara walked in and grabbed one of the two white aprons on the counter, pulling it over her head and tying it behind her back.

Within an hour, the teashop was full of people and full of life, as Zuko stood over the stove in the kitchen, with five different pots over fires, boiling water as wooden cups stood in line on the counter nearby, different herbs in each. Katara was walking back and forth between the kitchen and teashop, bringing people their drinks and at the same time, taking orders. It was a good system, despite Katara's lack of experience in serving, seeing as Zuko didn't really feel he was ready to be standing around asking people what they wanted him to do for them. Katara came in with three more orders and an armful of empty cups. She dropped them into the washing-up basin and asked Zuko to whip up a cup of cocoa and raspberry, a cup of mint and a cup with cinnamon and Echinacea. She picked up the tray he'd set out for her and took it back into the teashop.

Perhaps the reason there were so many customers was that not many people in the lower ring actually had jobs. Most were thieves or crooks, some were elderly and some were on their lunch breaks. Ah. Noon was the peak of the day; so much so that Katara and Zuko didn't stop working for lunch, as they couldn't afford to miss out on the business pouring in. The money was pooling in a jar in the kitchen that Katara kept putting the money into. She had been tempted at one point to pocket the money, but had eventually emptied her pocket into the jar.

By the end of the day, as the sun reddened in the sky and Zuko shut the front doors of the teashop and turned the sign around, neither of them could say they hadn't secretly used their bending to aid them in the day. They also couldn't honestly say if Mr. Dong was nearby.

Katara pulled a chair out and sank into it, looking down at her feet.

"We can go get something to eat, and then come back for the night shift." Zuko pulled his leg up behind himself to stretch his leg muscles, having stood over the stove all day.

Katara nodded and stood up, pushing the chair under the table. She shoved the door open and breathed in the chilled air. The red sun illuminated a purple sky with pink clouds. Zuko followed and shut the door behind himself, locking it despite they didn't have a way to unlock it. As soon as it clicked locked, he questioned if it was all that smart leaving their day's pay behind. They purchased some apples with the last of their money and ate while wandering through the street.

Katara stopped at a fountain, surrounded by unlit lanterns. The evening sun sparkled into the water as she sat on the edge of the fountain. She didn't say anything, but Zuko could tell her feet were throbbing by the way she outstretched her legs. Zuko sat down and looked around, wondering if that girl, Jin, was still around. He immediately cursed himself to wondering so; after all, he had a girlfriend now. Er… _Again_.

Katara had to admit she now wished Aang was here. Zuko was her friend and all that, but Katara was comfortable hugging Aang when she was depressed or anxious, and she could definitely do with a hug right about now. People she didn't even know had been telling her what to do all day. She leant and dropped her head against his arm, and if he were less tired, he would've freaked out and gotten a little uneasy. She shut her eyes tiredly.

"We should probably head back." Zuko cleared his throat, swallowing a yawn.

Katara moaned slightly behind closed lips and sat up straight. She eventually nodded and got up, soon followed by Zuko. They got to the teashop and Mr. Dong was already there, the doors unlocked.

"Ah, I was wondering where you'd headed!" he smiled cheerily, leaning over the counter, counting out the money on the counter.

Katara was beginning to get sick of the old man.

He had separated two quarters of the money and put them each in a small sack. The other half, he pushed into a larger sack and pocketed. He'd been away playing Pai Sho over a cactus brandy with two of his friends all day and he was making money off of it. He was very pleased with it, too.

He pushed the two small sacks towards the edge of the counter, towards them. Katara snatched hers up and shoved it into her pocket. The man was literally using them and reaping the benefits. Then again, she'd always heard waitresses were very poorly paid. Zuko shoved his money into his own pocket looked around. The lights were all blown out and the chairs were up on the tables.

"Uh, Mr. Dong, we were expecting to open up again for an evening shift." Zuko rubbed the back of his neck with his hand.

"Nonsense. Go now, I shall see you tomorrow morning." He motioned towards the door.

Zuko was taken aback. Was this supposed to be his whole day's wage? After standing on his feet for well over eight hours? And Katara had done twice as much as he had, and her sack had actually looked smaller than his somehow.

As Zuko and Katara left the teashop, they saw two other elderly men traveling up the steps, one of which held a Pai Sho board, and the other held a black velvet sack that contained the pieces. Even Uncle had not made him resentful of Pai Sho, but now Mr. Dong was cutting them out of a wage to sit around playing it.

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**A/N: Can't let you just jump out of the story without saying hello, can I? Hello! I know it's not very romantic so far, but once it deepens and unfolds you'll get into it. Love xxx This chapter's Quote:**

**'Why am I so bad at being Good?'**

**Because a great man once said: You never know how bad you are until you've tried very hard to be good.**

**I don't know who that man was, but obviously, he was very bad.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Bedroom Department

Zuko slammed the apartment door behind himself as Katara kicked her shoes off and approached her rucksack. It had only just gotten dark out.

"We could go check out Lake Laogai." Katara tried, pulling the gray ribbon from her hair.

Zuko exhaled, holding back a furious flame. "I can't believe that man." He pulled his toes up to exercise the muscles in his sore feet.

Katara sighed heavily, sitting down by her bag, pulling her knees up to her chest so she could press her fingers into the balls of her feet, in an effort to relieve some pain. "The people aren't exactly patient either."

Zuko pulled the tiny sack full of money from his pocket and tossed it to Katara. "You got less than that, right?" he sat down.

She pulled hers out and compared them. His was definitely more full than hers. She nodded at him and put both sacks down next to her. "My feet hurt _so _badly." She curled up her cold toes in her hands.

"Mine too." Zuko opened his bag and looked in for something. He wasn't quite sure what he was looking for, and eventually sat back against the wall.

Katara looked up and met his gaze. "I bet you don't even know what cold is." She smirked through her shiver.

"I know what cold is. I did actually go to the north and south poles." He answered quickly.

Katara tried to ignore her low temperature and grinned, shooting her cold hand towards Zuko and touching his bare arm, which was warm to the touch. Zuko jerked away and rubbed his warm hand against where her frozen hand had touched him.

"Agh!" he laughed out, still rubbing it warm.

Katara scoffed a laugh. "See? You can't handle the cold."

"I don't need to." He immediately answered, snatching her hand and rubbing it between his two. She felt the tingling of heat penetrate her fingers. Katara felt some feeling return to her fingers as he heated them up. She gave him her other hand to keep warm, which he took also.

"I thought _you _were supposed to be able to handle the cold." He smirked, rubbing her hands.

"We're not immune to it, we just dress warmly. How was I supposed to know it would be this cold in Ba Sing Se?" she gritted her teeth to keep them from chattering against each other.

Zuko exhaled a warm breath onto her hands and glanced at her face as she took her hands back. He saw bright blue eyes that watched her toes in amazement, like they weren't actually hers. They were moving, yet she couldn't feel them. She only felt the bruised feeling on the bottoms of her feet, and her toes seemed to be additional.

"Come on." He motioned for her to give him her feet.

Katara gave him a confused glance, but within a second more, she had turned and lifted her soft, cold foot to his warm hands. She winced at the sudden temperature change before her face relaxed as his warmth caressed her foot. He ran one hand underneath the bruised area, his other hand holding her toes as they became alive once more. He pressed his thumbs firmly against the heel of her foot and she accidentally let out a sharp breath that indicated how much it hurt. He started massaging the heat into her sore foot and she was soon lying back on the floor enjoying.

"That's … oh, spirits, where did you learn to do that?" she slurred slightly, her eyebrows coming together as he moved his thumbs to the arch of her foot.

Zuko let a laugh out as he massaged her now warm foot. He pushed his thumbs into the ridge between the arch and ball of the foot, and she let out a low moan that would make Aang, or any other boy blush.

"Your muscles are _really _tense." Zuko squeezed her foot.

"Oh, I know. I've been on my feet all day. When you finish I'll do yours, it's only fair."

"You can try." Zuko scoffed a laugh, pushing his thumbs again into her foot, making her moan again. He massaged each individual toe before taking her other foot and starting at the heel. She let out another moan as his fingers climbed from her heel towards her arch. "Doubt you could top me."

Katara murmured with another sharp breath. He was probably right; what he was doing was amazing. But he needed to know what he was doing; how awesome it was.

His thumb pushed into her arch and she let out a squeak that caused him to laugh out loud, still pressing into her arch. He finished and she sat up, she held out her hands for him to give her a foot. He lifted his pale-skinned foot and she immediately took it in her hands, which had already started to cool. She placed her thumbs underneath, her fingers resting on top. Her thumbs traced over to his heel and she recalled the feeling of his thumbs pressing into the edges of her heels. She pressed her thumbs into the outside of his heels, and he was quite surprised by how fast she'd learned what to do. She smirked at the slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, his eyes falling closed in relaxation.

Her thumbs moved into the centre of his heel, pressing steadily and slowly. She threw him another glance to admire the state she'd put the Firelord in. He was relaxed, leaning back on his hands as she pushed away the muscle pain in his feet. She suddenly had an idea and moved her thumb and forefinger to either side of his Achilles heel. Maybe it would be his weak spot. She started squeezing gently to avoid doing any damage to the muscles, as she knew she wasn't a pro at this.

He let out a long breath that Katara saw as the equivalent of her moans, and moved her thumb and forefinger into the muscle a little harder, before moving back to the spot between his heel and arch.

"I'm a fast learner, huh?" Katara laughed softly.

Zuko didn't answer, but enjoyed the sensation of her fingers pressing into his foot. She finished the foot and took the other. There was a long silence that would have been classed as awkward if Katara didn't know how much Zuko was enjoying the pressure she put on the muscle knots. She put the second foot down when she realized he'd fallen asleep, and smiled reluctantly. She was no longer cold, and she eventually nudged Zuko to wake him.

"You fell asleep." She yawned. By now the moon was high in the sky.

Zuko nodded and pulled his shirt over his head, before peeling open his sleeping bag, tiredly. Katara untied her tunic and clumped it into a pillow, sliding into her sleeping bag. Zuko curled into the sleeping bag and fell asleep almost immediately. Katara realized how much easier it was to fall asleep when she was warm.

"Katara," he shoved her lightly.

Katara blinked her eyes open. "What?" she grumbled.

"Come on, get up." He smiled energetically.

Katara shook her head into her tunic under her head. She'd never understand Firebenders; how they could wake up so early. The sun had only just risen.

"It's your turn to take the hot water," he nudged her again.

Katara groaned and pushed the sleeping bag away, sitting up. "I'm not wearing those stupid shoes again." She rubbed her eyes, climbing to her feet. She snatched up her clothes for today and headed for the bathroom.

They got to the teashop as Mr. Dong was opening it again, and snatched up their aprons.

Two hours into the day, Zuko had decided to swap jobs with Katara so he could have a chance moving his legs, and she could stay still for a while. He'd showed her what to do and was walking back and forth, finally realizing how much Katara's day had sucked yesterday.

"Lee!" there was a high-pitched, surprised voice.

Zuko turned his head quickly. Jin was approaching a table.

"Uh … Jin!" his voice was also surprised.

"I didn't know you were back in Ba Sing Se." she smiled widely, sitting down.

Zuko approached her. It was quiet now. "Well, circumstances changed. My uncle … um, died."

Jin gasped. "Oh, no! How did Mushi die?"

Zuko had to think fast. "He caught that fever I had." He feigned some fake sadness.

"Oh, Lee," she breathed. "So who's making the tea now?"

"I am, mostly. My girlfriend usually waitresses, but we decided to swap jobs for a while." Zuko explained. If he said he had a girlfriend, maybe Jin wouldn't hang around so much.

"Oh." Jin looked disappointed. "Oh, so what's her name?" she smiled brightly.

"Uh … TeiLyn." He swallowed awkwardly.

"Oh, what a pretty name!" Jin burst out. "So, can you take my order?"

Zuko smiled and nodded.

"I'll have … a raspberry, cinnamon and cocoa tea."

Zuko smiled again and retreated to the kitchen with the order. Katara glanced at him and noticed his face was bright red.

"Why are you blushing?" Katara poured the water into the cups.

"This girl I dated for a while is here. I told her you were my girlfriend." Zuko spoke quickly. "She wants a … raspberry, cinnamon and cocoa tea."

Katara nodded, returning the water to the fire. She pinched some of each ingredient into a cup and handed Zuko a tray. "Those two are for table three, and these four are for table five." She pointed to the cups.

Zuko nodded and disappeared into the teashop. He walked back in with an empty tray not long after. "Want to swap jobs again?"

"She driving you crazy?" Katara smirked, stepping away from the stove. Katara took the next tray out and put the raspberry, cinnamon and cocoa tea on the table in front of the only girl sitting alone in the teashop.

"Thank you," she smiled up at Katara. "So, are you TeiLyn?"

Katara nodded with a smile. "Lee decided to take over the stove again."

"Ah. Well, if you don't mind my asking … erm … would you agree that he's a good … kisser?" the girl's voice dropped into a whisper.

Katara swallowed. "Oh … definitely." She was half shocked, and half just trying to torment the girl.

Jin smiled quickly and blushed a pale pink before speaking again. "I never … we never got …" she took a deep breath and spoke again. "Is he … uh … good in the bedroom department?" her voice was somehow quieter than a whisper now.

Katara turned beet red. "Oh, we're not … we haven't …" her voice cracked in shock.

"Sorry, forget I asked-,"

Katara struggled to smile as she backed away and entered the kitchen. She put the tray down next to the clean cups and burst out in sniggering laughter. Zuko turned his head and looked at her. She was sliding down the wall in hysterical laughter, doubling over and jerking with huge, wracking laughs.

"What?" Zuko glanced at Katara.

Katara shook her head, trying to avoid his gaze.

"She just asked-," she broke out laughing again, before taking a deep breath and standing up straight. "Sh- She just asked me if you were good 'in the bedroom department'." She coughed out another snigger, doubling over again.

Zuko turned scarlet red and stared at Katara. "What did you say?" he snapped, causing her to laugh harder.

"Oh, oh, your face is-," Katara sputtered between laughs, now sitting on the floor.

Zuko managed out a short laugh before asking her again how she'd replied. Katara regained her composure and stood up, wiping her eyes.

"Relax, I told her we hadn't gotten that far. She turned this really, _really _dark red, it was _so _funny. Then again, I was probably redder." Katara shook her head, still sniggering.

Zuko laughed slightly. "You're worse than Azula, you know that?"

"Oh, come on, I'm not _that _bad." Katara sighed happily. She picked up another tray of cups and walked back out into the teashop, biting back a grin.

* * *

**A/N: Because it has to be asked. This chapter's quote:**

_**'****Zuko: **(mocking) 'I'm so pretty, look at me. I can walk on my hands, whoo!'_

**Love yas! xx**


	4. Chapter 4: Truth Or Dare

They closed up hours later, as the sun began to fall into a purple sky with pink clouds. Katara put the chairs up on the tables and swept the floor again. She dropped the cups into the washbasin, washed them and stacked them while Zuko poured them each a cup of cinnamon-mint tea.

He handed her a cup and took a sip of his own. "So, are we making a routine of footrubs?" he asked.

"Yes, but I thought you'd take your _girlfriend_ for a romantic walk tonight." Katara smirked. "Maybe we'll hear something about the Dai Li." She murmured quietly.

Zuko nodded. "Good idea." He took another sip of tea. "I need to get more ingredients too."

Katara bobbed her head as an answer, before taking a last sip. "Come on." She dropped her cup into the washbasin. Zuko dropped his cup in and followed her out the front door, grabbing his sword sheath that he'd left hung on the coat hanger. They'd come back later for their wage. Katara snatched his hand, just to make him even more uncomfortable. Then again, as far as everyone they'd met was concerned, they were dating.

"So, why did you dive in front of that lightning shot?" Katara suddenly asked, roaming with him down the dark street.

"Huh?"

"When we were fighting Azula."

"You'd have died if I hadn't." Zuko smiled softly.

"You nearly died."

"You were able to heal me. If you were unconscious, you wouldn't have been able to heal yourself."

Katara laughed. "You're determined for it to be the logical action, aren't you? Why can't you just admit that you like me more than you thought?"

"Because I decide who I like."

"Obviously you don't. Apologize for calling me a water peasant." She suddenly smirked.

"Why?" Zuko laughed.

"Because it was mean. _And _it was a low blow." Katara explained, this time seriously.

Zuko sighed. "Okay. I'm sorry I called you a water peasant."

"I'm sorry I called you a spoiled prince."

"When did you call me that?" Zuko scoffed a laugh.

"Oh, many times." Katara smiled, making him forget what she was saying.

Zuko laughed again and squeezed her hand. "You're forgiven, _darling_." He strained the word.

"Thank you, _honey_." Katara retorted with a smile.

Zuko nudged her playfully in the arm, putting his arm around her in a sort of hug. They then realized they were quite deep into the slums. The street had narrowed and darkened, and all lights were quite far away. Zuko shrugged up to make sure his swords were still ready to be pulled out in a pinch. He wouldn't be able to firebend and Katara couldn't waterbend either, so his swords were their only protection. Thank the spirits he knew how to use them. Katara heard music not far off.

"Do you hear that?" Katara looked at him with a grin.

"Music." He answered.

Katara squeezed his hand tighter and dragged him further down the street until they came to a club where music was pouring out, and a crowd was gathered inside. She looked at Zuko with a desperate smile.

"Can you dance?" she asked quickly.

Zuko nodded with a smile. "Come on," he led her into the building. Couples were dancing, big, tough men were drinking and flirting with girls, the bartender was busy running back and forth. He headed for the bar when Katara dragged him towards the music. He exhaled and put his hand on her waist, taking her hand with his other.

Katara placed her hand on his shoulder, a look in her eye of determination. He took a step forward and she mirrored, stepping back with one foot and leaning slightly to the other side. Zuko pulled her back with him and she complied to his leading, before ducking under his arm and appearing behind him. He turned and smirked, snatching her hands again and realizing by now how fast they were moving. Katara stepped towards him as he stepped into her, his hand taking her waist as she gripped his shoulder once more. He moved forwards, she moved back, crossing her right leg past his right leg, swinging her body around him, under his arms.

She expected to get the better of him, but he held her hands tight and turned with her, gripping her by the elbow with his now free hand, spinning her around. She stepped a foot onto the floor as she completed her twist, before taking both his hands and lifting them high, turning and crossing his arms around her, before stepping to the right. He stepped to the right with her then twisted her around and stepping into her. She stepped away and forward, sending him back. They weren't even touching anymore. When one moved forward, the other went back. Zuko put both hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn't notice herself thrust her knee up to his hip as the already fast music became livelier again. Zuko's hand raced to her thigh and held her leg up.

She'd only just realized that her shoes were somewhere on the dance floor as Zuko leant his head down to her, pressing his body against hers. His breath lingered in her ear as Katara pushed his hand up to her knee before shooting up and leaning her weight onto his hand, throwing herself in a whirl around him. He gripped her by the hand, she stopped at the end of his outstretched arm, before rolling back along his arm and finding herself pressed against his chest again. She was laughing madly, looking up at him. Zuko swallowed, an energetic smile lining his face. Before he could understand the emotion racing through his mind, Katara was pulling him off the dance floor, toward the bar.

She climbed up onto a barstool, still panting. Zuko sat on the barstool next to her. The bartender walked up to them.

"Can we get two Phoenix gins?" Zuko put eight coins down on the bar.

"You both sixteen?" the large bartender collected the coins.

Zuko nodded and smiled, putting another three coins down. He was seventeen, but Katara was only fifteen.

The bartender smiled with a shake of the head, collecting the other three coins. The boy knew good drinks, so he had to know to drink responsibly. "Two gins coming up."

Katara turned to Zuko and drew a long breath. "You really _can _dance."

Zuko smiled. "Thanks. So can you."

Katara nodded with another grin as the bartender put a glass in front of her, before putting one in front of Zuko. Zuko took a sip of the clear drink. He pulled a face afterwards, indicating how strong it was. He could've been quite tipsy after one glass if he was stupid and poured it down all at once. Katara took a tentative sip of the drink and choked as she swallowed. It tasted nice, but it was very strong.

Zuko laughed at her, turning to face her, leaning his arm against the bar. He held the glass in his hand and took another small sip. "Like it?" he motioned to the drink.

Katara nodded quickly, taking another sip. "It's nice." She smiled. "So, what's the deal with you and what's-her-name?"

"There's no deal."

"Well, you kissed her." Katara pointed out. "That's a kind of deal."

Zuko took a sip of his drink. "My uncle thought dating would be good for me. Turns out I suck at it."

Katara laughed before taking two consecutive sips of her gin. "The whole dinner thing doesn't work. If you'd brought her to a dance club, you'd have wooed her _no problem_."

Zuko smiled slightly. "Thanks." He pressed his lips to his glass and drew out a small sip.

Katara smiled back and sipped the gin. "And between you and me, I suck at the dinner thing too."

Zuko held back a laugh. "What do you mean?"

"Ugh, my dad set up a date for me and Aang. It was horrible. _Horrible_. He kept playing with the damn candle, which was okay, until these girls came over from other tables asking him about his tattoos and stuff. Then he was bending the water in his food and I lost it. I haven't spoken to him since." Katara laughed, before taking a sip of her glass.

Zuko jerked with laughter and poured the remainder of his gin into his mouth. "I can just imagine a floating piece of broccoli." He coughed out another laugh.

"Oh, no, it was peas. There were peas floating around the table." Katara sipped back the last of her gin with a sputter of laughter.

Zuko shook his head. "Come on," he stood up.

Katara got up and followed him out of the club. They got out into that dark alley again, where she gripped his arm involuntarily. Zuko was nowhere near drunk enough to do anything stupid, but maybe just drunk enough to pick a fight on someone who muttered about his appearance, or something of the sorts.

They got to the apartment and collapsed onto their sleeping bags. Zuko roughly remembered that they'd planned to get their wages from Mr. Dong, but they were sure they'd collect it tomorrow.

"Okay," Katara sat up on her sleeping bag. "Truth or dare."

"That's a stupid game." Zuko sat up.

"Oh, come on!" Katara laughed.

"Fine." Zuko leant forwards. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Katara smiled, sitting up straight.

"Okay … what's the deal with you and Aang?"

Katara laughed quickly. "He thinks he loves me, but he doesn't because he opened his seventh chakra to control the avatar state."

Zuko stared at her for a long time. "What?" he finally breathed.

Katara sighed exasperatedly. "Okay, well, Aang said he loved me, and then he found out that he couldn't love anyone because that would mean his seventh chakra would be shut, and all the chakra have to be open for him to control the avatar state. And obviously he defeated Ozai, so he had to open the chakra."

"So … he _says _he loves you, but … he doesn't _really_?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

Katara nodded. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Zuko smirked.

"Dare you to say 'I must regain my honor'."

Zuko broke out laughing. "Fine." He cleared his face and cleared his throat. "I must capture the avatar and regain my honor."

Katara slapped the floor hysterically.

"Truth or dare?" Zuko swallowed, trying to kill the smile on his face.

"Dare." Katara cringed.

"Dare you to …" Zuko looked around the room. "… Touch the ceiling."

Katara scoffed and got up. "That's easy." She reached up. She found herself getting onto her toes and still reaching.

Zuko got up and touched the ceiling without a problem. He pulled a half-smile at her.

"Yeah, I need another dare." Katara put her hands on her hips.

"Okay, I dare you to …" He took a step towards her. "… I dare you to kiss me."

* * *

**A/N: Am I a bitch? Oh, yes. Do I enjoy it? Oh, yes. Am I imitating a british dog on an insurance ad? OOOOHHHHHH YESSSS. Am I George Takei? Helloooooooo. Am I getting off the subject a little? Yeah, probably.**

**I love cliffies. Shock value is a little sucky because I'm about to upload the next chapter so there's no actual cliffy. It's like a fake cliffy. Just please, pretend. This episode's quote? Muahahahaa...**

**Iroh/Zuko:_ '_**_Never give up without a fight.'_

**It's from Zuko Alone, it's closely related to the funnier one:**

'Read the inscription'

'Made in the earth kingdom'

'the other inscription'

**Love yas xxx**


	5. Chapter 5: Thighs

Katara let out a laugh. "What?" she looked up as he got close enough to put his hand on her waist.

"You heard me." He smiled softly.

Katara's eyes met his as she tried to decipher what he meant, and then his other hand came to the side of her neck and he leant down to press his lips to hers. She froze up in confusion and only managed to shut her eyes as she focused on the softness of his lips. Zuko pulled away from her and she moved with him before looking down. She knew how this went; the meaningful kiss and then either an apology or the not mentioning it. She expected him to say something, but instead he stepped back. She looked up and met his gaze. He was clearing his throat awkwardly.

"Sorry … I've … I've had too much to drink." Zuko lied. He could usually hold his alcohol.

Katara smiled slightly and nodded. "It's fine. Go to sleep, we have to get up early." She walked back to her sleeping bag, before climbing into it fully-clothed. Only then did she realize that she still didn't have her shoes.

Zuko sighed heavily and got into the sleeping bag, tucking his shirt under his head again. The kiss had been nothing; just him pressing his lips against hers. And he had been drinking, too. It was nothing. A mistake. He was as good as engaged, and she was Aang's sort-of girlfriend. And they were only friends. Yet something about kissing her felt better than any kiss he'd ever had; with Mai, or Jin or the odd girl here and there. Damn it, he was so stupid. He sank into a dark sleep. He woke up with the sin and took a hot shower to melt away his hangover. When he emerged from the bathroom, Katara was headed for it.

They got to the teashop again as Mr. Dong was opening the doors, and by now it seemed a suitable time for them to be turning up for work. The days continued like that for about a week. They would get to work and take their positions, go get a bite to eat at sunset, collect their wages, go home, rub each other's aching feet and then go to sleep. Except today, they went all day not hearing a thing about their wages for the prior day, and collected the same amount as they had two days ago. Zuko had calmed Katara into letting it slide, knowing she was getting furious by Mr. Dong, who by now had made it quite obvious that he was sexist in that he never spoke directly to Katara, and paid her a whole ten coins less than he did Zuko.

A week had passed and Katara and Zuko knocked on the door of the teashop. They'd had a light dinner and gone for a walk before returning sort of late to collect their money. Mr. Dong slid the door open.

"Ah, Lee, TeiLyn! I was wondering if you'd show up!" he smiled briefly, opening the door wider.

They walked in to see one of the elderly men at a table, unfolding the Pai Sho board, revealing a large sheet of paper in it. The other man was setting up war figurines on the board. Zuko pretended not to notice, and Katara crossed her arms, her eyes only following Mr. Dong, who handed them each a sack and ushered them out of the teashop.

"Did you see the Pai Sho board?" Zuko muttered as they got out into the street.

Katara scoffed and shoved her money in her tunic. "No."

"There were architecture blueprints in the board. I'll bet anything they're for the palace." Zuko glanced back at the shop. He led her further down the street before yanking her around a corner into a narrow dark alley, leaning around the corner and waiting. The alley had to be only a foot wide.

Zuko watched a large group of similar-looking men walk into the teashop. They were dressed in long black robed with green edging, white undershirts and tan shoes. They all had the front of their hair shaved and the rest in a braid. He was certain they were Dai Li. There were about ten of them. One stood out in the group; one wearing black sun hat. By now it was dark out. The only reason anyone would wear that hat now would be to cover their identity.

"What are you looking at?" Katara pushed him against the wall and leant around him to see.

"Ow!" he snapped, shoving her out of the way. She continued to push against him, trying to see what was going on. They managed to find a position in which they could both see.

Katara gasped. "Long Feng." She was obviously eyeing the different one in the group.

"Mr. Dong's involved with the Dai Li." Zuko muttered bluntly. "Looks like we've found our way in."

"Right. How do we find out more?" Katara glanced at him.

"Tomorrow, when he opens up, we talk about political conspiracy theories and he should drag us into it anyway." Zuko explained simply. "You learn these things when half your nation wants to see you assassinated."

Katara laughed. "_I_ don't want you dead."

"How comforting." He smirked, still watching the scene. The Dai Li disappeared into the teashop. Katara repositioned herself between Zuko and the wall and leant to watch also. Zuko swallowed with as a red flush overcame his face as the wall forced her chest against his. Her cheek touched his shoulder as she leant around him to watch. Her hair tickled his chin as he awkwardly maneuvered around her. They both tried to shove out of the narrow space at the same time, Katara's back getting stabbed by a metal ornament jammed into the wall. She yelped and jumped from the firebender, trying to touch her hand to there her back was bruised.

"Sorry." Zuko pulled lopsided frown.

They crossed the street and slammed themselves into the apartment. Katara marched into the bathroom, quickly tearing her tunic off and turning her back to the mirror, glancing over her shoulder to the bruise forming just under her strapless undergarment. She stalked back into the main room and tossed her tunic at her sleeping bag. It was pitiful, that they'd been here this long and had yet to buy a bed. She asked herself why her temper was out of control, but only managed to kick at the floor in response. Zuko crossed his arms, leaning against the front door.

"What's bothering you?" he finally spoke, ripping his shirt off and tossing it across the room.

Katara stepped out of her shoes and climbed out of her leggings, revealing the short white skirt of an undergarment. Zuko quickly turned his back to her and turned a bright red.

"What are you doing?" he snapped.

"I'm getting changed." Katara answered. "Jeez, you've seen me in my undergarments already, what's the big deal?"

Zuko grumbled and replied; "Thighs, Katara. Girls are not supposed to show their thighs in the Fire Nation; it's considered to be trashy."

"Well, we're not in the Fire Nation, are we?" Katara smirked. "Oh, spirits!" she suddenly laughed. "You're … you've never seen a girl in her skivvies, have you?" she burst out.

"Will you please put some clothes on, Katara?" Zuko finally snapped. He turned and looked her up and down, still scarlet red and his muscles pulled up in embarrassment.

Katara put her hand on her hip. "Why are thighs so terrible, then?" she proceeded to take a step toward him.

"I don't know, It's just … it's always been like that."

Katara smirked and eyed him. "So, you're allowed to … _touch _my thigh, but you're not allowed to see it."

Zuko realized she was referring to the night a week ago where they'd shared a passionate dance. "That was inappropriate."

"We weren't drunk yet, so what was it?" Katara's voice twisted around seductive words, like velvet on skin.

"It was … it was inappropriate." Zuko felt his pulse rising as she got close to him, her body only inches from his.

"And what … are you _scared _to see a little bit of skin?" Katara purred out, tilting her head back to look into his amber eyes.

"No." he breathed. There was a long pause before Zuko realized what she was doing. She was seducing him. "Do you realize what you're doing?"

Katara smiled, satisfied. "It works, doesn't it? Suki told me how useful flirting is when you want information. And men can only think with one thing at a time…"

Zuko let out a laugh. "Are you going to get dressed now?"

Katara nodded and stalked past him, pulling her bag open. "So what do they teach girls in the Fire Nation? Like, in those finishing schools and stuff. I'm sure Mai's had to go to some kind of etiquette school."

"I don't know, I've never been to a girls' academy. I know that girls aren't supposed to show their arms any higher than their elbows, their legs higher than their knees, and even that's kind of bad." Zuko yawned and glanced at her again. Her skin was taunting him as she rooted through her bag for a simple outfit.

"What do you mean?" She looked up, tossing her messy ponytail over her shoulder.

"Well, as nobility or royalty, you don't show your ankles or anything higher than the wrist. I don't know, it's just always been like that." Zuko looked around the apartment. "We really need to get some furniture." He added, rubbing his good eye with the back of his hand.

"Oh, for Agni's sake." She shoved her bag over, rooting through her stuff further. "I had brought this … _really _expensive, relaxing tea herb from this shop in the capitol."

Zuko's gaze passed over her back, noticing a large, purple bruise that had formed on her. "That looks bad." He approached her nervously.

"Yeah, it hurts." She straightened her back. She eventually grabbed her leggings again and pulled them back on. "How are your feet?"

Zuko shrugged and made a noise that expressed that they were okay. "I'll … if you want, I can massage your back." He swallowed a little unsurely.

"Really?" Katara glanced up at him. "You'd do that?"

Zuko nodded with a slight smile.

* * *

**A/N: I know it's moving slowly, but most of my other FF's have move too fast, so I'm trying to keep things slow and steady. It'll heat up when they get into the Dai Li plot. Loves ya xx**


	6. Chapter 6: Man Of Vision

Zuko nodded with a slight smile.

Katara almost immediately sprawled herself face-down over her sleeping bag as Zuko knelt down and touched the bruise on her back with a tentative finger. She tilted her head so her cheek was against the sleeping bag. He flattened his hands over her back, one directly over the bruise. His fingers curled against her skin as he put some pressure on the heels of his hands. She murmured something about it feeling good, but Zuko hadn't been paying attention. His thumb grazed the white fabric of her undershirt as he pushed his hands in circular motions over her lower back. Here was his friend, female as she was, what most of his family would considered 'half-naked' under his hands, as he knelt over her shirtless. What would his mother have said about this? He knew what his father would say, anyway.

'_It's about time, anyway.'_

Zuko let a small laugh escape him in deep thought, his thoughts lingering to a one night when he was thirteen, probably four months before he received his scar. His father had asked a soldier to hire a prostitute and send her to Zuko's room. The woman had been a young twenty or so, and was drenched in cheap perfume. Angry at his father's actions, Zuko had paid her an additional twenty coins to leave. No one had asked him about it, ever, but Zuko had been sure his father had sent the woman to him. While he had at one point spent the night with Mai, he had never admitted to it having been his first time. After all, Mai had proven that it hadn't been hers.

He hadn't noticed his hands getting warmer against Katara, but while she hadn't complained, he made a mental note that she wasn't able to handle the type of temperatures that he was. What felt like lukewarm sparks to Zuko could easily burn or scald Katara.

His hands moved over her shoulders, loosening her tense muscles with the heat they produced. Neither of them said anything throughout the entire massage, knowing it would only lead to an awkward confrontation as to what their relationship with each other truly was. He eventually took his hands from her and sat back on the floor. Katara rolled over onto her back and looked at him with a slight smile of relaxation.

"So." She pushed herself up onto her elbows.

"So." He answered with a sigh.

"I guess maybe we should hit the sack." She sat up, almost disappointed.

"Yeah." Zuko replied, before looking away from her.

Katara stretched her arms skywards, the grey ribbon coming loose from her hair. She bunched her tunic into a pillow and fell back onto it. Zuko pushed his shirt into a pillow and laid back on his sleeping bag.

"So, when we get to the shop tomorrow, we start talking about the war, right?" Katara yawned, pulling the other side of the sleeping bag over her chest, keeping her arms beneath her head.

"Yeah, about the new Firelord."

"And how he's reportedly good at giving backrubs." Katara added with a cheeky smirk, blinking at the ceiling.

Zuko put one hand beneath his head and pulled his sheets up over him, his arm draped over his waist. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'he's a tyrant', yada-yada-yada."

"Is that what people are saying?" Katara shut her eyes with a yawn.

"No, I usually get the whole 'traitor to his family' thing." Zuko exhaled, shutting his eyes.

"Oh, spirits." Katara murmured. "What about the council?"

"Not impressed with pulling out of the earth kingdom, anyway. I've had to banish three governors already. And then there's the death threat letters."

"Wow." Katara managed out. "That's horrible."

"I know." Zuko's tone was as if this wasn't his main concern.

Katara noticed this and turned her head to look at him, her eyes meeting the scarred side of his face. Her sleeping bag was directly next to his and he was still within range for her to reach out and touch him. Her elbow touched his as she stretched again.

"Any leads on your mother?" she eventually spoke into the darkness.

"No." his voice was simple and blunt, yet somehow rude and painful.

Katara unfolded her arm and put her hand on his forearm, suspended in the air. "You'll find her."

"I hope so." He sighed, turning onto his side to meet her blue eyes. He shut his eyes to block out her pretty face. "I can't marry Mai unless my mother is there. I won't."

Katara pulled a half-smile that etched a frown on the other side of her face. She hadn't considered the thought that her mother wouldn't be at her wedding. While she was sure she'd end up marrying Aang, and that Hakoda wouldn't mind at all, she questioned now whether she wanted to get married.

Zuko put his other hand over Katara's, catching her soft hand between his hand and forearm. He felt a bond; a connection to her, that could only come from the similarity of losing their mothers. He sensed that she envied the fact that there was still a chance Ursa was still out there. The Fire Nation army would never have spared Kya; this Zuko knew. He lacked this particular bond with Sokka, because Sokka had always been closer to Hakoda, just as Azula had been to Ozai.

"I can understand that." Katara choked out. He hadn't notice her getting teary.

"Hey." He took her hand and squeezed it gently. In the time he'd known her, he had seen her get angry, or bitter about her mother, but she'd only ever cried about in the crystal catacombs. He figured it wasn't something she discussed with her brother, or even with Aang. She probably felt comfortable talking to him about it, because she knew he understood. "Hey." He repeated as she allowed some tears to run from her eyes past her hairline.

She forced herself to sit up and snatched her hand from him to wipe her face, only choking out more sobs, hunching over in memory.

"_Mom, I'm scared."_

She gasped out as the words rung in her head. She hadn't known Kya had died protecting her, until she'd confronted Yan Ra. While hatred lingered in her soul, both guilt and sorrow raced through her veins. If she'd known some waterbending, she'd have had a chance at saving her mother. She'd been helpless. A wave of insecurity pulsed through her, her heart pumping in her head as she cried. She barely took notice of Zuko having shuffled toward her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder, his hands gripping his bare shoulders as she shuddered.

"_I know sweetie, go find your dad."_

Katara gasped again, tears falling onto Zuko's skin. She breathed quickly, gasping between breaths, only holding him tighter as she sobbed into him.

"_Do as your mother says!"_

Her fingers twisted into his black hair as she brought her arms up around him, gasping, shaking and shivering in emotional agony. A pain Zuko could understand. He bit back his own tears. It couldn't have been easy for her to see Yan Ra as a helpless old man. After all, for most of her life, the man had been Katara's mental image of the Fire Nation; the ruthless, merciless murderer that had snatched her childhood away. It had to be unsatisfying to feel pity for the man that had ruined Katara's life for so long. He could tell that part of her hadn't understood the change people go through when they are vulnerable. Perhaps that had been why she'd accepted Zuko into their group.

Even so, he'd have never pictured himself as her shoulder to cry on.

She had to have cried for an hour before Zuko realized she'd fallen asleep on his shoulder, her hands grasping him tight. Her body was cold and still shivering in his arms, as her slow breathing hit his chest. He let a wave of heat radiate off him as she shut his eyes with a heavy breath. Goosebumps formed on her tan skin at the warmth mixing with the cold. He adjusted his grip on her and gently laid her back down in her sleeping bag, lying down with her and holding her with his warmth. Her head fit perfectly into the space between his chin and chest as her the mist of her breath dissipated with the heat he produced. He did at one point try to pry her fingers away from his forearms, but her grasp only tightened and she shuddered a few sobs into his chest while asleep. He eventually pulled the other half of her sleeping bag up over the both of them.

Zuko blinked his eyes open at the sound of a voice. He had been asleep, a strange dream involving leopard-deer hunting with his father fogging his mind. He recognized Katara's voice, mumbling into his chest. She sounded as if she was pleading for her life, her eyebrows close together, her forehead pressed against his collarbones. He sighed slowly as Katara mumbled, wondering how he'd gotten here. He was sure Aang and Mai would slaughter him right now if they saw him. Yet, nothing felt wrong about being here for Katara in her time of need. To keep his mind off his physical situation, Zuko let his thoughts wander to his dreams.

Ozai had been in many of his dreams lately. The latest, leopard-deer hunting, was one of the simpler ones. There had been terrifying ones. Depressing ones. Physically painful ones. The worst was the recurring dream of waking up in his royal bedroom, trudging into the bathroom and looking into the mirror, only to see his father grinning back at him. He would then punch the mirror and fall screaming into a dark pit. He usually woke up then, sweating.

He woke up with the sun, and pulled himself away from Katara, who was deep in sleep. She seemed to be finally sleeping peacefully after her fitful night. As they crossed the street towards the teashop, Katara noticed Mr. Dong and cleared her throat before looking at Zuko. They hadn't talked since last night, but now they had to.

"All I'm saying, Lee, is that if Ba Sing Se became a republic, we'd get a vote in what happens around here." Katara elbowed him into action.

"How can you say that? You're a woman, you wouldn't even get to vote!" he shook his head, stepping onto the steps up toward the teashop.

"Well, the Earth King hasn't a clue what happens here in the slums. And not to mention the damn Fire Nation! I don't trust that new council for a second!" she shot Zuko a sideways glance.

"Granted, but it isn't your place to say about these matters." He knew he probably shouldn't have, but Mr. Dong obviously was more than a little sexist, and using that to his advantage was only going to help. "…TeiLyn." He added with a little cough.

Mr. Dong raised an eyebrow as he shoved the door open. "Excuse me, Lee, TeiLyn; could I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?"

Katara and Zuko nodded, following the man to the kitchen. All was going according to plan.

"I couldn't help but hear your conversation; what was it you said about the um … the Earth King?" Mr. Dong looked at Katara.

"Oh, the man is oblivious." Katara huffed, knowing Zuko was secretly impressed by her performance.

"Ugh, I'm sorry, Mr. Dong; we shouldn't bring political banter into the workplace; it's completely unprofessional." He bowed his head for a moment, glancing to Katara s if to tell her to shut up.

"No, no, not at all. I believe I may have a little overtime for you, though, if you don't mind putting in the work." Mr. Dong glanced out into the teashop, before looking between the two.

Zuko shrugged. "No, we're happy for any extra money we can make, Mr. Dong."

Katara didn't answer as Dong spoke again.

"Ah, you see, if you happen to be interested in political disputes, a few acquaintances of mine have a friend, high up in the Earth Kingdom ranks, who, in the case of the Earth King's … _demise, _would be first in line for the throne." Mr. Dong's voice was very quiet. "Now, plotting and planning an assassination is a lot easier than actually finding someone to do the job. And Lee, I'm willing to bet you are very skilled with the swords you brought to the shop."

Zuko stood up straight. "Mr. Dong; while I completely agree with you on that the Earth Kingdom needs a new leader, it's best for the Earth King's death to look like an accident, don't you think?"

Katara bit her lip, impressed with his smooth talking.

"Aha." Mr. Dong replied. "As soon as I saw you, boy, I knew you had to be intelligent." He smirked with an evil glint in his eye. "A man of vision."

Zuko smiled slightly at this.

"Tonight, after the day shift, meet me here. I would like to show you both something, introduce you to some friends of mine."

Katara and Zuko nodded again and watched as Dong left, mentally rubbing his hands together.

"Ugh, what a psycho." Katara exhaled, grabbing her apron from the counter.

"Tell me about it." Zuko laughed softly, pulling his over his head. He tied it in the back and approached the stove. "I'm itching to burn him."

"I think you're just itching to burn something." Katara stepped with a sigh toward the arch that led to the teashop. "Thank you. For … for last night." She looked at him with a half-smile.

Zuko's amber eyes met her blue ones with a similar smile. He had planned to say something charming like 'it was my pleasure' or 'no problem', but instead, "You're welcome." Came out. Turned out, it was enough to make her look down with a small blush as she walked out of the room. He exhaled. He really hoped the Dai Li didn't recognize him.

* * *

**This story is really lacking in hot steamy Zutara passion! Hopefully I'll get on a roll and bring up the luvin. I just felt it was appropriate to tell you, the dance scene in (i think it's chapter four or five) was inspired solely by the song 'Right Round' by Flo-Rida. It didn't come out as it did in my head. It was a lot cooler in my head. This episode's quote is:**

**'Wow Sokka, you are a master of surprise' - The Western Air Temple**

**The 'man of vision' thing was from Zorro, which I watched today.**

**Love yas xxx**


	7. Chapter 7: Getting In Too Deep

The day dragged on, and being a particularly rainy day, people who came in simply to keep dry ended up buying tea and making more work for Katara. It hadn't rained the entire length of their stay in Ba Sing Se, and it hadn't rained in the Fire Nation for over a month before that. Katara looked out into the rain longingly as she served the customers their drinks. As the day came to an end, the customers ran from the shop to their homes or into other buildings to avoid the rain as Katara dumped a tray of dirty cups into the washbasin.

"Ugh." She grumbled out, rubbing her forehead with her forearm, pushing some hair out of her face.

"It's miserable outside." Zuko yawned, stretching his arms away from each other.

Katara scoffed a laugh and glared at him. "It's brilliant outside." She answered.

"Okay, then, you go get food, I'll go home." Zuko pulled his apron off and shoved it onto the hook on the wall.

"Fine." She answered with an enthusiastic smile. She pulled the money sack from Zuko's belt and shoved it in her pocket. She disappeared out into the teashop and left.

As Zuko got into the apartment he noticed something different. It was still as shabby as ever, except there was a table and chairs in the middle of the room. A cheap double mattress was pressed up against the wall. Maybe Katara knew something about it. He pulled out a chair and sat down, leaning forwards on his elbows. He couldn't stop thinking about the night prior. How often did Katara open up to him? It was very rare that she said anything to anyone about her mother.

This brought on thoughts about the kiss last week. It had been completely stupid of him to pull such a stunt. Aang would kill him if he found out, and admittedly, although the kid was only fourteen and had an innocent little mind, Zuko had no intention of pissing off the Avatar. He could admit to himself that his feelings for Katara were not what he allowed them to be, but the quantity of roadblocks in his way of being with her was astronomical. The first one being that she was obviously not interested.

Or was she? She had tried to kiss him back, hadn't she?

Zuko groaned in exasperation. He hated being confused. He hated it! He wished he had a clear knowledge of what he wanted, like his uncle. Hell, even his father had known the goal. He groaned again; this was only directionless pondering. The kiss with Katara had had to be a mistake on both parts. After all, as far as the Fire Nation was concerned, he was engaged to Mai.

Katara swept into the apartment with a moderately sized brown sack under her arm. She put it down on the counter and looked about.

"What's all this?" she looked at the table, and then the mattress.

"You didn't do it?" Zuko glanced at her.

"Nope." She opened the sack.

"Hm. Maybe Mr. Dong did it."

"Maybe." Katara put the bag's contents out on the counter and smiled proudly. "We're having koi-prawn curry tonight."

Zuko turned in his seat to look at her. She was filling a bowl with water. She dropped in the koi-prawns and dipped her finger in the water, making it freeze over instantly.

"That should keep those fresh." She stepped back from the water and tied her hair back more securely. She turned to the stove and clapped the nearby spark rocks together, setting a spark onto the straw beneath the wok on it. She snatched up the butter from the counter, grabbed a knife and cut some butter into the wok. She pulled a bigger pot from a cabinet and filled it with water, placing it on another fire. She poured in the rice. She then looked at Zuko, who was watching intently.

"What?" she finally asked.

"Nothing. Need any help?"

"No, I'm good. Can you set up that mattress?" Katara motioned to it, holding a bag of paprika-chili powder in her hand.

Zuko nodded and got up. He shoved the mattress down on the floor before setting up the sleeping bags on it. He dragged the bags toward the mattress before standing up straight and looking across the room to Katara. She was stirring the rice, now steaming. He sat down again at the table and waited. She brought the two bowls to the table before bending water over the fires on the stove. She sat down opposite Zuko, admiring her work.

"This is good." Zuko noted between mouthfuls.

Katara smiled back with a thankful nod, before bringing a spoonful of the food to her mouth.

"You're going to bring your swords, right?" Katara tapped her fingers on the table, while poking through her food.

Zuko nodded, glancing to the sword sheath sitting by the door. Katara finished her food before Zuko and waited anxiously. He took both dishes to the sink before approaching the door. Katara glanced at the mattress as the firebender grabbed up his swords and pulled the sheath over his shoulder. The only thing that she would need to come back for would be her mother's necklace, in the event of things getting too heavy. Then again if the Dai Li saw her with it, they'd easily discover that they were spies.

They approached the teashop in the heavy rain. Mr. Dong was standing in the doorway, the two sacks already in hand. He handed them each a sack before motioning for them to follow him. He locked the teashop and proceeded down the overcast street, the two companions following behind.

The long walk to Lake Laogai was silent, until Mr. Dong jammed his fist against the large rock protruding from the earth. The lake seemed to open up with a flight of stairs that led down into a black hole.

Zuko headed in after Dong, Katara closely following. The darkness and shadows opened up into a dim green light and a stone corridor. A small group of Dai Li stood at the bottom of the staircase that was closing behind them.

"These are your associates?" one of them scoffed. "They're mere children."

"They probably don't even know a thing of politics." The other one added.

Zuko reached to pull out a sword as Dong slapped his arm away from his sheath. "Be calm, Lee; we must unite against a common enemy. Bickering between ourselves will only cloud our vision."

"The vision for the future." The two Dai Li bowed their heads. "Apologies, master. And to you." They glanced at Zuko and Katara.

Zuko and Katara bowed their heads in response, following the three down the dark corridor. The hall opened up into a huge temple-like room that harbored a huge round table, with around fifteen Dai Li agents seated around it, plus Long Feng and the two strange old men that had been in the teashop playing Pai Sho.

"Long Feng. These are my associates; Lee and TeiLyn." Dong bowed down and put his hands together as he addressed Long Feng.

"Ah, I recall you mentioned them this morning. Come, sit." He motioned to the group of chairs unoccupied at one end of the table. "How very strange of you to bring a woman to this evening's meeting, Dong." He seemed intrigued by Katara.

"Well, one must make exceptions for the cause." Mr. Dong cleared his throat and sat down. Katara and Zuko each took a seat.

"Indeed." Long Feng stood up and approached a large-scale map of the palace, hung up on a wall. "As you know, The Earth King is away on a state visit to the Northern Water Tribes, and will return in three days to promote the opening of a new bending academy in the upper ring. With the blasting jelly resources we have, we will demolish the academy and the Earth King in it, and it will look like a Fire Nation assassination. In turn, the next Earth King will retaliate, throwing the war back into play."

Zuko felt his teeth gritting. After all he and the Gaang had done to stop the war, all these people wanted was another one? There was a loud applause in the room as Long Feng raised a hand and continued.

"The world can not remain in remission, and once the Earth Kingdom defeats the world, we will expand our battalions to the Fire Nation and ultimately bring about an agreement between the nations that benefits the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. How could sending battalions to the Fire Nation possibly benefit the Fire Nation?

"Let me explain." Long Feng smiled at Zuko and Katara, who only looked confused. "Are you aware of Princess Azula, the Firelord's sister?"

Zuko and Katara nodded with a slight skeptic look.

"Until there is an heir to the throne, Azula is next in line to rule the Fire Nation, despite her imprisonment. Once Fire Nation soldiers are sent out onto the battle field, the palace will be left completely unarmed and the Firelord will be left to his own protection."

Zuko and Katara nodded in understanding, while still utterly bewildered. These people were deluded morons. Zuko managed to suppress the pride of being under the nose of the people who wanted him dead. He was literally planning his _own _assassination.

"We will meet again in two days, here. You are dismissed." Long Feng bowed his head and disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Katara exhaled with relief as they shut the apartment door behind them. "Maybe we're getting in too deep."

"I'll tell you when we're getting in too deep." Zuko let out a laugh. "So Azula is their light at the end of the tunnel." He thought aloud.

"Better hurry up and make a baby, hm?" Katara joked, before running and diving at the mattress on the floor.

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to that." Zuko scoffed, approaching the mattress. He dropped to the mattress and laid back on it. "I'd probably be a terrible father."

"What?" Katara spat out a laugh and sat up. "What makes you say that?"

"I have no idea what a good father does; I barely ever saw mine." Zuko sighed, shutting his eyes.

"Yeah. I'd probably be a sucky mom too. My Gran Gran had to explain the birds and the bees to me. I think I puked." Katara allowed herself to smile at her own misfortune.

"You'd be great mom. I mean, you looked after Aang, and Toph and _Sokka, _for a whole year, right?" Zuko opened his eyes to look at the ceiling.

"Yeah, well … oh! Oh, actually, we found this baby once, and I got to look after it and it turned out to be Mai's baby brother." Katara looked down at him.

"Tom Tom." Zuko laughed slightly. "I heard he went missing."

"Well, we gave him back." Katara leant back next to Zuko. "That was actually kind of fun."

"Hm." Zuko looked across the ceiling cracks in the dark. The moon illuminated the room, respite the rain and clouds outside.

"You know what we should do? We should go back to that club and dance." Katara turned her head to look at him.

"No drinking, though."

"Yeah, of course." Katara sat up. "We have to work tomorrow."

"Okay." Zuko sat up. "Let me grab my swords." He pushed himself up to his feet.

* * *

**A/N: because you know they're going to end up drinking. This time they's all gon' be like 'i luv u mate, srsly foreva, beuurrghh' kind of drunk. Maybe. LOLZ.**

**This chapter's quote:**

**Azula: 'careful, chan, you could puncture a military class airship leaving thousands to drown at sea. You know ... because it's so sharp.'**

**LAWLZ :)**


	8. Chapter 8: Drunk With You

Katara squealed in laughter as she clacked the shot glass down on the counter. She threw her arm around Zuko and continued to laugh. "I'm beating you." She panted, grinning happily. Zuko turned his head to look at her. "No way, you're _so _much drunker than me." Zuko smirked, pushing his hair out of his face. He looked at the bartender. "Two more!" he sputtered a laugh at the bartender, who seemed to only be enjoying their demeanor. He put poured more of the golden liquid into the glasses.

"Okay … okay, one … two … three …" Zuko and Katara recited together before knocking back the shot glasses, emptying the drink into their mouths.

They put the glasses down and laughed madly at each other. Katara slipped off her barstool and pulled him to his feet. "Dance with me!" she called over the noise in the bar. Zuko laughed and followed her to the dance floor. The dancing, while completely uncoordinated, was great. After all, most of the other people dancing were very, _very _drunk. Saying that, Zuko and Katara were also very, _very _drunk.

They sat down and drank three more shots each, before pulling each other out of the bar, hanging on each other to stand up, just like every other couple leaving the bar. Katara had left her only other pair of shoes inside the club, but she doubted she would be able to walk in them anyway. The rain pelted them mercilessly, but they only found it hilarious.

"Oh, oh!" Katara suddenly piped up. "Can I have a _backrub _when we get back?" she slurred, sloppily grasping his hand.

Zuko answered her with a smirk, then a grin, then an eruption of laughter, before he suddenly scooped low and lifted her over his shoulder. She screamed in laughter.

"Agh! Lee, put me down!"

Zuko shot forwards at a run towards the apartment building, Katara bouncing on his shoulder with each time his feet in the ground. He put her down just outside the apartment building.

"Ugh, I'm going to be sick, you jerk!" she clutched her stomach with a grimace. "And we had that huge dinner too!"

Zuko just laughed at her. He collapsed to the floor, smacking the wet, sandy ground hysterically. Katara soon followed suit and collapsed next to him. She dragged him upstairs and shut the apartment door behind them.

"Tch, you are _so _drunk, Zuko." Katara exhaled happily, watching him crawl toward the mattress. "That was fun, wasn't that fun?" she sank into the mattress next to him.

"Yeah, that was fun." He answered, propping himself up on his elbows.

Katara sat up and hugged him spontaneously, her hair falling loose around her shoulders. "Spirits, is it hot in here, or is it just me?"

"No, it's me." Zuko laughed out loud, causing Katara to laugh also. "Come on, that was quick. Admit that was quick." He glanced at her with a smirk.

Katara nodded, shaking her hair free. She untied her tunic and balled it up on the mattress. "Come on, you promised me a backrub."

"Did I?" he glanced down at her strapless undershirt.

Katara slapped him on the arm before laughing. "You suck." She smirked.

Zuko pushed her back until she was lying on the mattress again. She rolled over and folded her arms under her head. Zuko pulled his vest off and straddled her, causing her to turn her head as best she could to glare at him. However, she had to change her mind as his warm hands started pressing into her back in a smooth, strong motion along the sides of her spine.

"If I catch you smiling I'm going to kill you." Katara slurred out in relaxation.

"What if I …" Zuko ran his hands gently up her back, over her undershirt and into her under arms. Her arms jerked to her sides as she yelped out. He leant forwards and trapped her under his weight. "Muahahaha, water peasant, you are my prisoner!" he laughed into her ear, causing her roll onto her back beneath him and shove him back, sitting up.

"You'll never be Firelord!" she mouthed before grinning and pouncing on him as he fell back onto the floor.

"What? But I have to regain my honor!" he grasped her upper arms and rolled over on top of her. He grabbed her bag and pulled her mother's necklace out. "Tell me where the Avatar is and I'll give you back your necklace!"

Katara laughed out under him, her hands wrapping around his upper arms as he grasped hers. "I'll never tell you!" she hissed with a grin.

"I'll save you from the pirates," he whispered back, his breath tickling her neck. He dangled her mother's necklace over her.

She just stuck her tongue out at him. They both thought of the same thing and exclaimed at the same time.

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

"She's not my girlfriend!"

They both laughed at each other, before the laughing died down and Zuko cleared his throat in the dark. The rain was hitting the translucent yellow sheets over the windows, the moon shining through the uncovered windows into Katara's pretty face. A lone lantern flickered near the kitchen area. Katara swallowed, one hand moving from his forearm to his shoulder. Zuko took a labored breath and leant forwards to kiss her. His face got to be two inches from hers, and he was so close, her cool breath hitting his warm lips. She shut her eyes awaiting a kiss as he rolled off of her to lie on his back next to her. He dropped her necklace back into her bag, shutting his eyes in confusion. He hated being confused.

Katara sat up and climbed onto the mattress. She slid into her sleeping bag and exhaled heavily. "Good night, Zuko." She managed, shutting her eyes as she pushed her head into her tunic.

"Good night, Katara." He answered, sitting up. He sighed and climbed into his sleeping bag. He was so stupid. Well, at least he'd stopped himself this time, right? So why did Katara sound disappointed? Maybe she was angry. Maybe she'd just realized that Zuko had feelings like that for her.

Katara bit back tears. She was stupid to think she would ever have a chance at him. After all, he was in love with Mai. He was very in love with Mai. And he was the _Firelord_, for Agni's sake. How stupid could she be? And she had Aang, who was desperately in love with her, right? And she wanted to love Aang, too, right?

So _why _did she still feel this way?

Damn it! She didn't want Aang! Aang didn't love her, he was deluded! Why did she have to cater to Aang? She wasn't in love with him, and she wasn't saying she was in love with Zuko, but everyone so wanted her to be the pride of the family; The Avatar's wife, what people consider to be the most elegant woman in the world. She had to feel guilty about having a silly crush because of Aang. She turned fitfully in her sleeping bag, Zuko asleep next to her. She shot him a glance. He was beautiful, and she knew he didn't think so. And he was charming, and funny, but not goofy, and very … very manly, and handsome and … _sexy_. She allowed herself to think it. Only a fool wouldn't.

She blinked her eyes open and saw the overhang of the western air temple. Why was she here? She'd gone to sleep in Ba Sing Se just hours ago. Or maybe not; maybe she'd been out for days, unconscious.

"Hey, morning, Mom. How's your head?" she heard a voice. She turned her head as she sat up. She saw her reflection in the water of the fountain. She looked older. A _lot _older. Like, her mother.

"Mom?" the voice repeated.

Katara turned her head again to see the boy standing nearby. She choked. The boy had the blue arrow tattoos and the gray eyes, but a complexion somewhere between hers and—

"Think fast!" came his voice as he darted toward the boy.

The boy shot himself up in the air with Airbending, and Aang shot right under him, stopping by wedging his foot into the earth, tearing it up.

Katara blinked confusedly. "Aang, who is that?" she eyed the little boy as she turned pale.

"What are you talking about, Katara?" Aang chuckled, walking toward the bald child. He put his hand on the boy's head and did what would be called a noogie if either of them had hair. He looked at the boy and then at Katara. "It's Tenzin. Your … son?" he added, more seriously.

Katara blinked her eyes wide open, bloodshot as they adjusted to the dark. It had just been a dream. It had been wildly vivid and too detailed for her liking, but nonetheless, it had just been a dream. Aang had once said how dreams could be remnants of the future, she recalled groggily, sitting up. She glanced at Zuko, who was sleeping silently next to her, his bare chest rising and falling slowly with peaceful breaths. His scruffy, wild black hair was fanned out over his shirt as he slept. Katara turned away from him bitterly; the last thing she needed was to be sitting here watching him sleep. It was torture; like the treasure you can see, and touch, but never have or hold. She'd made a self-destructive mistake in admitting her own feelings to herself.

She lowered herself back to her pillow and glanced out the window. The sky was already starting to brighten with the day, revealing that the clouds were fleeing Ba Sing Se. She shut her eyes tightly and brought the sleeping bag up over her chest, her hands linked over her stomach. She had never wanted to be that girl who had a crush. After all, the girls she'd known during childhood had been those ones. The ones that fell head-over-heels for the warriors that went into battle and got burnt to a crisp by firebenders.

But this was different. This was _worse_! She was crushing on the guy that used to do the burning. The guy that-

The sun peered out from behind a cloud and hit her face. She smacked her hands to her face to cover her eyes from the jagged, dull pain that filled her senses. Now _this _was a hangover. This was the kind of hangover that you missed work for. Despite that, she got up and pulled the drapes shut over the window, blocking out most of the sun and leaving the room a greenish color as the sun shone through the thick green curtains. She approached the mattress and glanced back at Zuko. She eventually let a sigh escape, knelt down and shook him a little bit.

His eyes opened slowly as he dreaded the sun. Katara was leaning over him, looking particularly tired and drained of energy. He rubbed his face to awaken himself, only irritating the raw red flesh of his scar. He gritted his teeth and looked over Katara. She was dropping back into a sitting position on the mattress, propped up on her hands as she let her head fall back, her dainty neck exposed to his vision. She was still in her undershirt, but she didn't seem to mind at all. He allowed his gaze to wander across her shapely waist as she drooped back down to her tunic, rubbing her face vigorously, trying to wake up fully. He forced himself to look away from her. Admiring, no, _appreciating_ her features was only going to make it harder for him to remain focused, forget his childish infatuation and move on.

He brought his forefinger and thumb to either side of the bridge of his nose, soothing his hangover with hot fingertips. As it melted away, he managed to open his eyes fully and see through the dim light that Katara was holding her open hands near her head and making motions with her fingers as if she were waterbending. He sat up to see if she was bloodbending, but only saw the blue glow in between her eyes that she held with her eyes shut. He pushed the sheets away and forced himself onto his feet.

"Morning." He finally spoke, his voice hoarse and manly.

Katara glanced at him for a moment, before getting to her feet. "I call the shower."

Zuko nodded, before bringing his eyebrows together. His hangover seemed to only have gotten worse. "Hey, can … I think I'm going to take the day off, okay?" he grabbed the wall for support.

Katara stepped toward him. "Are you sure? You can't just suck it up?" she looked worried.

Zuko shook his head. "I don't know. Agh." He put his two fingers against his temple.

"Want me to see what I can do?" Katara stood two feet in front of him, reaching to him.

Zuko nodded slowly. She took a step forward and put her forefinger between his eyes as she glanced at the sink, pulling some water from it. She brought the water to his temples and they floated there for a moment before glowing up and flattening over his temples. Her other hand was hovering in the air, her fingers controlling the flat pads of cool water. He winced slightly as the water dissipated. Katara met his eyes and he smiled to show he felt a better.

"Thanks." He smiled softly.

"No problem." She cleared her throat almost awkwardly and stepped back, away.

After work, they headed to the apartment, not hungry, and sat down at the table to wait for Mr. Dong to get back and pay them. Katara drew back the curtain to lean out and watch the teashop, her elbow on the ledge and her chin resting in her hand. Zuko soon joined her.

"Tired?"

Katara nodded slowly. "You?" she rolled her gaze along the skyline, watching the purple clouds mix with the blue ones in the pink sky, lingering away from the hot red sun. The pink light graced her face as the gentle breeze brushed her untied hair to one side.

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and looked about. The sky looked really pretty. He could say that, right? "We don't get these sunsets in the Fire Nation." He smiled slightly.

Katara turned to smile at him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Zuko nodded, still smiling warmly. "Yeah." He managed.

She examined his face. The smile was soft and warm and his eyes were just as affectionate. The rolling breeze brought his messy hair along with it. He tilted his head in amusement at the look on her face as she looked at him. He had no idea that she was thinking of his lips.

"Can I ask you something?" she stuttered quickly.

Zuko bowed his head forward in response.

"Would you have kissed me if you weren't drunk last week?"

He coughed to keep himself from choking. His face began to redden. "Uh …"

"It's okay, forget it. I just …" she began to feel just as awkward. "Sorry."

Zuko turned his head away from her and glanced down at the street. "No, I just … no, you should get an answer to that." Zuko forced the words out, running his fingers through his hair.

Katara shook her head. "If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to-,"

"I didn't do that because I was drunk." Zuko exhaled carefully. "I kissed you because I wanted to."

Katara blinked slowly, looking at the side of his face as he looked away. He looked back to her, stopping at her expression. She opened her mouth to answer, but then closed it when no words came to mind.

"I …" he stopped himself. He was going to make things worse and worse until she just completely freaked out. He knew it.

Katara let a small smile roll onto her face as she took her chin from her hand and stood up straight. Zuko stood straight and turned to face her.

"So now what?" she asked, the smile widening on her face, stepping into him until her chest was pressed against his. She tilted her head back to meet his golden eyes.

He let himself twitch the corners of his mouth upward, sliding his arm around her waist carefully. He didn't want to screw this up. He brought his other hand gently to her face as he tipped his head down to brush his lips on hers. She slowly lifted her hand to his cheek, her eyes lingering shut as she deepened the kiss. She almost stiffened at the sensation of the tip of his tongue, but soon answered back with her own. His fingers slid past her hairline and to the back of her head, passion coursing through his veins. Katara lifted her other hand to the back of his neck, feeling his black hair between her fingers. As he pulled his lips from hers, he felt the soft smile he had been holding back throughout the kiss erupt on his face.

Here she was, safely wrapped in his arms, with no one about to tell him he couldn't have her. Katara smiled back at him, her eyes half closed in relaxation. She dropped her head against his shoulder and hugged him desperately, never wanting to let go. He pulled her closer and held her just as tight.

* * *

**A/N: This is NOT the end, my people. This is just the BEGINNING. I didn't want it to be very chatty because I want to leave lots of stuff for them to say in other chapters. I have a lot done on Chap. 9 but it needs a LOT of work. BTW, this chap was redone twice. I may just jump the cliff and let the story go a little faster in the next chapters. Muahahahaa!**

**This chaps quote: 'SECRET TUNNELLLL ... SECRET TUNNELLLL ...'**

**because even Avatar needs hippies to spread the love. Peace out mah peeps.**

**Love yas xx**


	9. Chapter 9: The Victim's Lies

Katara left the club, having gone to collect her shoes. She shook her head, her untied hair tossing around her waist, still smiling at the fact that she and Zuko were sort of an item. Well, technically they'd decided that Lee and TeiLyn were an item, and that they'd have to sort something out when they got back to being Katara and Zuko; the water tribe girl and the Firelord. Katara allowed herself a small frown; being the Firelord, Zuko had a lot of responsibilities and loyalties. He was expected to marry Mai, too. She looked up from the floor when things grayed and became dark. She realized she was in that alley again. She heard voices and paused. She waited silently, still listening for a short while. She forced herself to walk forwards, clutching herself just a little tighter.

She could see the end of the alley as a hand grasped her by the shoulder and spun her around. Before she knew it there was a fist bashing against the side of her head. She stumbled backwards, trying to see straight as the stranger grabbed her by the shirt and threw her against the wall. Katara's eyes danced around wildly trying to figure out what was happening. She caught sight of the young man as her vision straightened, his hands forcing their way into her tunic and pulling her money out. She shot her hand out and grasped the man's forearm, her other hand snatching for the money pouch. She felt the fist again in her jaw, so powerful that it spun her around. She managed to reach out and grab him by the shirt, holding tight. She blinked and saw straight for a second, landing a punch into his face. If she could waterbend, she thought, she could take this guy blindfolded. Her back made contact with the wall again as the man shoved her quickly, glancing around in case anyone saw. She hadn't screamed yet, only made a few agonizing grunts and moans of pain.

Something he felt made him want to hurt her more; it was so easy. She was helpless; he was in charge. But with the money pouch in his hand, and time only moving forwards, his only goal now was to get her hands away from him. Her hand clung desperately to his sleeve as she clawed her fingernails into his cheek. He shook his arm quickly and smacked her hand away, forcing another punch into one of her eyes. He swung his leg around and knocked her off her feet. He ran as fast as he could, making sure not to look back, lest he feel regret, or guilt or remorse.

Katara's breathing was labored as she lay on her back in the alley, her forehead and lower lip bleeding, her eye starting to swell. Her tunic was loosely open from the man's robbing her, and her undershirt was exposed. The cold air hit her chest ruthlessly. She had no energy left with which to cover herself, her arms strewn across the sandy ground. She took another labored breath, closing her eyes and hoping to pass out. She moaned out in agony as she felt her own blood trickling past her hairline, her tears already tracing down her temples. If she'd been able to waterbend, she thought, she'd have been able to protect herself. The shadows enveloped her as darkness took over and she finally fell unconscious.

Katara felt life flooding her again as she opened her eyes. She winced at the dull pain in her right eye and stared at a cream colored ceiling. She was on a bed for the first time in a week.

"Oh, my goodness! Are you alright?" came a worried voice leaning over her. It was a woman; a pale woman with long black hair and familiar eyes.

Katara blinked as best she could and swallowed. "Wh- where am I?" she forced herself to sit up.

"You're at my house. My name is Joo Dee; I work in the upper ring. I … I found you in an alley not far from the Phoenix Inn." She stammered out.

Katara eyed the woman. Joo Dee was what the Dai Li named greeters, wasn't it? Why was this woman so … lively? Maybe that wasn't the word to use. Maybe 'sane' fitted better.

"Th- thank you." She managed tiredly. "I … my name is TeiLyn. I … I work at the Jasmine Dragon."

"Oh, I know that place. Is there anyone there I can contact for you? A … a parent or something?" the woman asked, swallowing in concern.

The woman was certainly motherly, Katara decided. "No, no … my boyfriend, Lee should be there. He's probably worried sick." Katara touched her fingertip to her lip and looked at the dried blood on her finger.

"Should I fetch him for you?"

Katara looked up to the woman. Joo Dee. She certainly didn't look like a Joo Dee. She had emotion, and heart and … _motherhood_ in her. Then it snapped. Katara's eyes widened as best they could as she looked over the woman. The golden eyes were proof. She was a split image of Zuko.

"No!" Katara suddenly cried out. Zuko couldn't see Ursa, he'd see it in a second flat. "No, no, I'm fine, I … if you can help me to my apartment, I'll see him when he gets off."

"Are you sure?" the woman's eyebrows were high up in worry.

Katara shook her head vigorously. "Yes, I'm sure." She sat up with a slight struggle. "I should be working too, actually." She exhaled.

"You're in no condition to work," she answered simply. "If you're here with a boyfriend, where are your parents?" the woman stood up and approached a stove on the other side of the room.

"My mother died when I was very young. My father and brother joined the army." Katara exhaled, watching the woman pour water into two wooden cups. "Do you have children?" she asked.

"I did once." Joo Dee walked back toward Katara with the two cups. "A son and a daughter. Beautiful children." She handed Katara a cup.

"They don't live here with you?" Katara took the cup and brought it to her lips.

"I left my husband for my own good. I wrote him to find out if I could see the children, but I was never answered."

Katara could tell the woman was lying, but at the same time she was trying to get an insight to this woman's head. "Why did you leave your husband?"

The woman sighed and took a sip from the cup. "It's a very complicated story, I can't remember most of it myself. It was a long time ago."

Katara nodded in understanding. While she knew it wasn't that long ago, Ursa had been brainwashed by the Dai Li; she had forgotten almost everything about her past. She gritted her teeth in confusion. Did she tell Zuko or not? He would only be hurt more by his own mother not remembering him. At least now he had hope. He had hope, and that was what made him so perfect. He would be a changed person if he lost that hope. She drew out a sip of the tea and shut her eyes to block out her own thoughts.

"Of course." Katara managed, brushing the cup with her thumb and locking eyes with the woman. She was beautiful; she had long, waist-length black hair held in a loose, low ponytail by a brown ribbon, and had only a few smile lines in her cheeks. Her golden eyes mirrored the pride and honor that Zuko expelled in his every movement. She let her thoughts wander back to Zuko. He was probably worrying madly about her.

The woman stood up and took Katara's empty cup. She dropped it and its companion into the washbasin and turned to face Katara again. "You should rest for the day. I have to work until dusk, but I can take you to your apartment as soon as I get off." She offered with a slight smile.

Katara swung her legs off the bed. "I think I can manage on my own. Thank you for your help."

"Here." She took a wet cloth from the washbasin and walked back toward Katara. She sat next to Katara on the bed and brought the warm cloth to Katara's forehead. Katara winced slightly before letting her face soften.

Ursa dabbed the cloth over the cut, wiping the blood away gently. She tossed the wet cloth across the room into the washbasin. "You should really find a waterbender. They have healing techniques that leave no scars."

Katara almost choked. "Uh … where would I find one of those in Ba Sing Se?" she stammered out.

"The Earth King has healers handy at all times. They're often found around the Upper Ring." She smiled softly, standing. She held her hand out to help Katara up. Katara took it and stood on wobbly legs. Her knees settled under her weight and she managed to take a step with Ursa toward the door.

Reluctantly, Ursa let Katara travel alone back toward the Jasmine Dragon as she headed for the train to the Upper Ring. As Katara shut the door behind her, she heard water in the bathroom, lapping around with movement. Zuko had probably taken the day off to wait for her, she thought with a sigh. She had hoped to heal her face before seeing Zuko, but obviously that wasn't going to happen, since she needed the mirror to see what she was doing.

She leant over the washbasin in the kitchen to see how bad it was. She grimaced at it.

The cut on her forehead was mostly clean and scabbing over. However she had a purple bruise surrounding her right eye and a nasty cut on her lower lip. She was sure she had fingernail markings on her chest as well. She tried to remember the damage she'd done to the man that had mugged her, vaguely recalling the triplet cuts she'd left scraping down his cheek and the violent punch she'd forced into his face as she felt the bones in his nose collapse against her knuckles. She shut her eyes to avoid her reflection. It almost made her angry enough to bloodbend.

"Katara." Zuko's voice was surprised as he stopped in the kitchen.

Katara jumped and looked up, her lips parted in equal surprise. Zuko's eyes opened a little wider and his mouth fell open, startled as he glanced across her face.

"What happened?"

Katara shrugged her shoulders up awkwardly. "I got mugged last night." She managed, her voice quiet. "I haven't had a chance to heal it yet. It won't look so bad once I-,"

"What did they look like?" Zuko brought his eyebrows together furiously.

Katara was taken aback for a second. "Uh … I … I don't know, it was dark. I think I got him in the face." Katara glanced down to her hands as she felt her palms become sweaty.

"Stay here." Zuko marched past her. He grabbed for his sword sheath as it sat at the foot of the door.

"No, Zuko, please, don't …"

"You want this guy to get away with it?" Zuko turned on his heel and snapped at her. She took a step forward and with a tiny, scared voice answered him.

"Please don't go." She linked her hands together and locked eyes with him, her eyes large and terrified.

Zuko paused for a moment and exhaled softly, stepping back toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "Shh." His voice was soothing as he felt her start sobbing into his shoulder. He shut his eyes tightly and buried his face in her, choking back his anger. He'd let her go alone. This was his fault; if he'd been there with his swords, he could have protected her. He wasn't just angry at the man who had attacked her, he was angry at himself for letting her go alone. Maybe it was because he'd always seen her as someone who didn't need protecting. After all, she'd always been able to do a number on him when the situation called for it.

Katara folded her arms between her body and his, crying into his shirt as he curled his fingers around her shoulder. He pressed his lips against her forehead, feeling her fingers shaking against his chest. Tears soaked through his shirt. It took all his strength to stay and hold her while she needed him. He wasn't one to keep from retaliating, but here she was, crying into his shirt and trembling. This was where she needed him right now, and this was where he was going to stay.

* * *

**A/N: I kind of want to hate myself for beating Katara up to satisfy my own plot, but what the hell. I'm really happy with the lines I have given Zuko for this chap; I wanted them to sound like something he would say, since he doesn't say much in this chapter. I struggled with Ursa's character a little, so I'm going to have to watch Zuko Alone again to really _get _her. Typical of me to make it so Ursa's brainwashed, huh? Meh, whatevz. And no, I'm not Australian, I'm half-Welsh, half-American. We get a lot of english people around here and they often use the term 'mate'. Don't forget to review!**

**This chapter's quote:**

**'Jerkbender. Still got it.' - Sokka.**

**Love yas xxx**


	10. Chapter 10: Guilt And Passion

Katara woke up in Zuko's arms, him lying behind her, an arm draped over her waist and the other under his head. She brought her eyebrows together in frustration about the events preceding her awakening. She looked down to see her hand in Zuko's. She allowed herself to smile at this. His bare chest was pressed to her almost bare back, and the sensation of his skin on hers felt wonderful. She knew she would miss this, when she became Katara again, and he became Firelord Zuko again. She exhaled slowly.

_When did life get so complicated? _She thought to herself, shutting her eyes.

Zuko squeezed her hand, revealing that he was awake. "Morning," he whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Mmm." Katara answered with a pleasant smile, enjoying his presence. Heat radiated from his body, raising goosebumps where her arms were exposed to the cool air.

He pressed his lips into her neck and elicited a laugh from her as she tilted her head awkwardly to meet him for a kiss. He paused at the sensation of dried blood on her lip.

"Sorry." She ran her fingers over her mouth. It occasionally started bleeding again due to any sudden lip movement she made.

"It's okay." He brought his hand over her waist and kissed her neck again.

She smiled happily and tilted her head into the tunic under her head, exposing more of her neck to his lips. He brought his kisses to her bare shoulder and his hand down over her hip. He opened his eyes to the red cut on her breast, just above the line of her undershirt.

"What's that?" he quickly snapped, meeting her gaze,

Katara turned her head to look at it. "A cut."

"On your-,"

She brought her eyebrows down at his reaction.

"-Was he- was he _touching _you, Katara?" he whispered, his eyebrows down in confusion, anger and fury.

Katara's mouth dropped open. "What?" she whipped her head around and stared at him. "No! He was gone by the time I passed out." She managed to bring her voice back down to acceptable levels, considering he was right beside her.

"You _passed out_?" Zuko gritted his teeth.

"Zuko, you need to calm down." She took his hand in hers.

"No, I don't. I need to find this hogmonkey and slit his throat." He murmured angrily.

Katara bit her lip at his words. She took a sharp breath and ran her thumb across his hand.

"I should have gone with you." He rolled away from her, onto his back. "I could have protected you."

Katara sat up and looked at him. "This isn't your fault."

"Then whose is it?" he snapped.

She jolted at his sudden answer and turned her head away from him. She knew what he was implying; that it was her fault. That she should have used her waterbending to protect herself, instead of being so stubborn.

"It's my fault, right?" she answered bitterly. "Is that what you want me to say?"

Zuko sat up and put his hand on her back. "No. No! I'm just … I'm angry. I'm angry because I don't want to see you hurt." He finally managed out.

Katara turned her head to look at him with a slight smile and sat up straighter, before putting the bottoms of her feet on the floor and pushing up into a standing position and heading for the bathroom. Zuko breathed out and got onto his feet, stretching his arms upward and walking into the kitchen area, a frown etched on his face. He glanced at the bathroom door before pushing himself to walk in after her.

She was leaning over the washbasin, her hands covered in water gloves, one hand hovering over her black eye and the other over the cut on her lip. He snaked his arms around her waist and rested his head on her shoulder. She smiled slightly at his touch, focusing on the bruised tissue surrounding her eye. The pale glow dissipated as she pulled her hands away and brought the water down. Zuko marveled at the disappearance of the black eye, and stroked her arm before heading back out into the kitchen, wondering if she'd need some privacy to heal the rather nasty cut on her chest.

Later in the day, as Zuko was dropping the water pots into the washbasin, he caught sight of Katara sitting sown at a table and exhaling tiredly as the last customer shut the door behind themselves. Katara leant back and rubbed her face to wake herself up. Zuko walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

"Tired?" his voice was soft.

Katara nodded and tilted her head back to look at him. At the sight of him, she realized how much their conversation this morning had changed things, as he looked rather dismayed. Zuko was impressed by the disappearance of her ailments, but was at the same time bothered by it. Katara seemed to be relatively okay, which in itself was quite strange. After all, being victimized by his father had led Zuko on a wild goose chase for the avatar, just trying to distract him from thinking of his father's betrayal. Katara was fine, and it bothered him. Then, maybe, having lost her mother, she had immunity to victimization.

Zuko mentally shook his head. Katara was never a person he'd ever seen feeling sorry for herself. She had fought him with more strength and determination than anyone he'd ever met. The victimization of losing her mother was still a large issue for her, so why was she so 'okay' with being mugged in an alley?

Katara smiled at him. What was bothering him so much? This thought tethered off as his thumbs pressed into her sore muscles and she moaned a little. Before long they were back in the apartment, his hands pressing against her back with warmth and affection as he leant over her. The bruise on her back was gone and she was fine. Everything was fine and yet something wasn't. Something he couldn't put his finger on.

His fingers dug into her skin again, eliciting a sharp sigh that was lined by a smile of ecstasy. She turned her head to look at him and saw him smiling warmly as he kneaded her sore muscles into comfort. She felt her stomach fill with butterflies as he met her eyes with the smile. He flattened his hand over her bare back as she sat up. He was surprised as she took his face in both of her hands and pulled him to a kiss. He put his hand on her shoulder and kissed her back, his other hand on the mattress beneath them. She pulled away only for breath before kissing him again. He was caught off-guard as she pushed him back onto the mattress and followed him, kneeling beside him, bent over to kiss him. He laughed as she pulled away again, seeing her smiling. A small candle was flickering near them, the light illuminating them in the darkness.

"You're beautiful." He had said it before thinking.

This only made her smile more as she leant down and kissed him softly. "You're beautiful too." She had pressed a gentle kiss on the raw red flesh of his cheek before he could do anything about it. He pulled up one side of his mouth in a lopsided smile, his hand bringing her chin back for him to kiss her.

She pressed her hand flat over part of his upper chest and collarbone, feeling the soft skin on her fingertips, her sensed filled with the smell of smoke and chamomile. She'd almost forgot that the teashops new special was chamomile. She suddenly paused and pulled away. She bit her lip with the thought of Ursa. How could she possibly be this free with him and love his company so much, and yet betray him with a secret that would kill him and save him all at the same time?

"What? What's wrong?" Zuko asked softly, the smile on his face still apparent, yet his eyes revealing a little bit of concern.

Katara bit back the thought, shoving it to the back of her mind and kissing him again, this time more hungrily, her fingers running into his dark hair as her other hand took his jaw again. He slid his arm around her waist, pulling her on top of him. She brought her leg over him until she was straddling him, leant over him, linked at the mouth. By the heat of his body and the knowledge of how firebending worked, she could tell he was feeling pretty passionate. Not that she needed any logical thinking to know that, his touch told her everything she needed to know. A dirty thought came to her mind, and she pushed that also to the back of her mind, to keep the company of the thoughts of Ursa. The thought had been triggered by Zuko's hand on her hip, where the waistband of her leggings met with bare skin.

She murmured Zuko's name as he pushed a lingering kiss on her neck. His lips trailed down her neck to her bare shoulder, one hand on her hip, the other on her back as she leant over him. He muttered her name softly between kisses into her skin. He heard her moan under her breath, and leant back again to kiss her on the lips again. He breathed her in, feeling her fingers outstretching in his wild black hair. He felt her roll off of him, panting for breath. He hadn't realized how long they'd been engulfed in each other, but he only rolled onto his side and laid his hand on her stomach with a satisfied smirk.

Katara smirked back, happy with the effects of his kiss. He was a good kisser, she had been right about that before even kissing him, and he was one of the most passionate people she'd ever met in her life. On top of all that, he really looked sexy when he looked smug. The candle nearby flickered light over his face, bringing her heart leaping into her throat. She wanted to kiss him again.

Zuko slid his flat hand across her bare stomach, pulling himself up slightly and leaning over her. He put his hand under her head and kissed her gently. "Come on," he stood on his knees. Katara sat up and got on her knees before wrapping her arms around his neck, kissing him again.

"I don't want to go anywhere." She mumbled into his mouth.

"We have to go get our money. And then we'll find something fun to do." He smiled between kisses.

Katara smiled at him, bringing her body against his and putting her cheek to his. She felt his scar against her face. He seemed a little uneasy at the sensation, but his hands placed on her waist stayed soft and gentle, as his thumbs stroked the contours of her body.

Katara and Zuko later walked hand in hand into the dance bar and sat down at the bar.

"Hey, Lee, TeiLyn. What's your poison tonight?" the bartender smiled warmly at Zuko, and then at Katara. Kai, which was his name, always took note of the swords Lee carried on his back at all times. He was pretty sure the boy was skilled in their use too.

"Something light, Kai. We're working tomorrow." Zuko smiled briefly, glancing at Katara. She was staring past Zuko, at a table further into the bar, her eyes wide and her face completely terrified. Her name jumped into his mind as he opened his mouth, but he controlled himself and spoke. "TeiLyn?"

He followed her gaze to the table, and then he felt his blood boiling at the sight of a man with a broken nose and triplet scratch marks down his cheek. The man was drinking alone, eyeing a drunk woman dancing with her male counterpart, rather scantily dressed, with his eyebrows together and his lips parted in awe and amusement. Zuko got out of his seat and Katara did nothing to stop him, completely frozen as she stared at the dirty little excuse for a man.

"Hey, get up. You and me are going to have a little talk outside." Zuko grabbed the man by the shirt and pulled him up out of his seat.

The man shoved Zuko off him and glared. "Who the hell are you?" he raised an eyebrow.

Zuko tossed his head to move his hair from his face. "I'm the guy whose girlfriend you mugged." He gritted his teeth. Katara stood up at the other side of the bar and took a step toward the scene. The entire bar was quiet and staring. Katara looked down for a moment. She applauded herself for leaving the cut on her forehead to sit there as a sort of proof of the attack. The cut was about two inches long and not very deep, half an inch from her hairline.

The mugger took a glance at Zuko, and then at Katara, before answering dryly. "What are you going to do about it, Cyclops?"

Zuko remained calm, almost calm enough to be creepy or eerie. "Come outside and we'll find out." He drew his swords in a swift movement. Inside the bar people would call it a bar-brawl; uncivilized and thoughtless. Outside in the street it was a duel.

And in a duel you could kill.

* * *

**A/N: I'm so sorry it took so long to do this chapter! It took a few do-overs to decide what I wanted to do with it. I never really commit to the next chapter while I'm writing its prequel, so I really just run with the situation I've created. Hoping the next chap won't be as hard as this one, since I already have the start to it. Hey, did anyone else know that star signs have elements? I'm a Fire sign :) (Sagittarius) My whole family is actually! **

**Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius**

**Air: Libra, Aquarius, Gemini**

**Water: Pisces, Cancer, Scorpio**

**Earth: Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo**

**Oh, and can't forget one little thing for this chapter: The quote! This chapter's quote is:**

_**Katara: "I'm sorry, Aang." **_

_**Aang: "It's okay, Katara. It's not your fault." **_

**_Uncle Iroh: "Well, yeah, it kinda is."_**

**Love yas xxx Rhia! Review!**


	11. Chapter 11: Against My Better Judgment

The man tilted his head and his neck clicked. Zuko stood twenty feet away from him, his swords drawn as he stood in the street. The mugger's friend tossed him a single katana sword and he eyed Zuko carefully. Mugging a girl in an alley and fighting a swordsman in the street were two very different things. Now there was a crowd of people gathered to watch, Katara in the front with mixed emotions.

Akio was the mugger's name. He sliced through the air with the sword and charged at Zuko with a heavy step. His foot pounded the earth and the sandy ground in front of him shot up as he stepped on it, propelling him up. He shot forwards with the katana in one hand.

Zuko's dual Dao swords crossed each other as the metal clashed together, beating against Akio's katana as the earthbender's feet hit the ground solidly. Akio swung the katana at Zuko's side, but was met only by the clash of metal again as his opponent held one sword upside down by its hilt, knocking the katana away. The katana shot for the other side, only to meet the same clash. Zuko swung his arm swiftly, the sword in his hand flying through the air at Akio's neck. Akio barely managed to bring his sword to deflect the Dao before splicing at Zuko again. Zuko stepped back from the blade and swung a leg backwards and around, both swords flipping in his hands into a stab position, bringing both blades whipping through the dark night air towards Akio, who held his sword firmly to block with a solid stance to keep from being swung around.

Zuko allowed himself a moment to recognize the crowd's chant.

"Lee! Lee! Lee!" it was repetitive, as they recognized his superior knowledge of the blades. Katara wasn't chanting. She was holding herself tightly, watching expressionlessly.

Zuko was caught off-guard as the katana in Akio's hands flung toward his legs. Zuko jumped the blade and brought the Dao blades back into their original position in his hands, spinning on his toes and heels to Akio, who was darting toward him, the katana outstretched behind him. Zuko rooted his feet into the ground as Akio leapt into the air and dropped one foot on the ground, and then the other and carved through the air at Zuko's head. The Firelord's blade came to protect himself from the strike, the other swiping at Akio's feet. The earthbender hopped over the Dao and hit the ground with his heels down.

The ground beneath Zuko shot up, bringing him to dive away from the rising earth and bend back, under Akio's arm and past him, swinging his leg in a motion he'd learnt dancing with Katara. His foot landed on another rising pillar of earth and he pushed himself back down onto flat terrain. Akio was no longer pretending to be a swordsman, and was using his element against Zuko instead. Zuko gritted his teeth and swung both swords against Akio, who defended himself with a shield of earth. Zuko bashed his knee into the shield, bringing it down and cleaving both swords over in an arc as Akio's head came into focus. As he prepared for the killing strike, more earth hit him in the legs, throwing off his strike and his landing. Zuko landed on one knee and one foot, the swords he wielded at his sides.

Katara felt the rain start to pelt them. While being showered in her element comforted her, she felt the moon overhead telling her to stop this, yet she was frozen. She was too frozen to do anything, she realized. Too terrorized even to speak, simply by the sight of this man trying to kill Zuko. Her heart sank in remorse. Zuko was trying to kill him also.

The earth pillared under Zuko's knee shooting him forwards, his swords falling to the ground so he could catch himself on his hands. Akio lifted a boulder of earth and it bolted above Zuko, to crush him between it and the ground. Women in the crowd looked away, but Katara stared onwards, for it was all she could do.

The boulder thrashed through the rain and the wind, becoming a cone that would stab through Zuko with no hesitation.

Katara wanted to shut her eyes and scream, while she didn't have the heart to. While she heard the earth stabbing itself, she saw him rolling onto his back and plucking the swords into his hands. Akio growled at Zuko's dodge and ripped up the ground like a carpet. Zuko twisted his back to avoid the flying splinters of earth and flipped onto his feet. By now a few passers-by had joined the crowd, and Katara recognized a few of the Dai Li from the meeting, lingering close to the front of the crowd, their hands behind their backs and their hats down low.

Akio shouted out in frustration, stamping a foot, a knee and a fist against the floor and sending triplet pillars around Zuko spitting through the air toward him. The Dao swords beheaded each pillar as he started to feel his energy draining. It was now dark and the energy he took from the sun was depleting, the rain and sweat soaking his bare arms and his wet hair falling into his face as he took deep and steady breaths, bringing himself into a firebending stance, one sword high behind him, the other pointed at Akio. His eyes darted around for Katara, as the adrenaline of the fight raced through his veins.

She caught sight of Katara, her arms wrapped around herself and watching him in worry, her wet hair sticking to her neck and skin. She shook her head slowly, recognizing his stance and reminding him with nothing but her eyes that he wasn't allowed to fight with bending. She knew it was unfair, a bender against a swordsman, but the mission was to save the Earth King, not to get thrown in jail by Dai Li.

Zuko felt rage in his lungs at Katara's tight grip on herself. She was terrified. Worried for his safety, he concluded. He understood that; he'd worried endlessly when Katara hadn't shown up at home. In a heartbeat, Zuko surged forwards, one leg swinging past the other and his swords twisting in the air wildly. Akio attacked the ground with his feet, shaking the ground under the battlefield, but Zuko got to him before he could stop him. Zuko swooped low and flung one leg in a roundhouse kick, knocking the earthbender off his feet and onto the ground on his back. Zuko stood over Akio, swords high in the air.

Akio stayed motionless as the swords came crashing down toward him. He heard the rain pattering against his opponent, and the swords, and the ground, and he waited. He counted to ten before he opened his eyes. One sword was standing on its tip an inch from his head, the other on the other side of his head. He panted heavily, his eyes wide as he stared up at Zuko's furious, hateful, yet calm posture and expression.

He gasped in relief as the man pulled the swords from the ground. Zuko slit the string connecting the money pouch to Akio's belt and with a smooth cut through the air, flicked the sack up without reaching. He grabbed it while it hovered, one sword in his other hand, the other standing on its own in the ground. Zuko shoved the money sack into the clip on his belt and swiped his sword from the ground. He brought the twin blades together as he slid them into the sheath on his back, still glaring down at Akio.

The cheering crowd had become deathly silent, watching Zuko take off down the street with his head down. Katara glanced at Kai, who as burly and huge as he was, looked quite harmless now after watching such an epic duel. Kai patted her shoulder and nodded toward Zuko.

"You should go with him."

"What do I say to him?" Katara answered shakily.

"Say thank you." He smiled with concern.

Katara smiled slightly, before moving at a run toward Zuko. She caught up with him, and while she wanted to say something to establish her presence, she didn't because she wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was marching forwards with his jaw clenched and his eyes down. His better judgment had told him to split the mugger's head in two and set him alight, and something had stopped him. He had _wanted _to kill him, and yet he hadn't.

She followed him to the apartment, where she shut the door behind them and watched him tearing his shirt off and approaching the mattress on the floor with an angry step.

"Thank you." Her voice was gentle and timid.

Zuko paused suddenly. His shoulders drooped from their tense position as he turned to look at her. Her blue eyes were looking at him in the same worry she'd held for the fight, her hair was soaking wet, as was his, and her clothes stuck to her shapely form. He exhaled angrily, his eyebrows coming together as he sank down to the mattress. She didn't bother to dry herself as she pulled her feet out of her shoes, stepping tentatively toward him on the mattress. He could tell she was actually scared of him, and yet he was in a world of his own, too deep into it to care how she was feeling. He scrunched his shirt mercilessly and put it down as a pillow, lying back and pulling his legs into the sleeping bag. He shut his eyes and allowed his clenched jaw to relax a little.

Katara stepped around him silently, and shrank down into the sleeping bag next to him. She glanced at him, to see him staring at the ceiling, his hands linked over his stomach and his eyes perplexed, deep in thought. Katara lay on her back, one forearm under her head as a pillow, as she didn't feel the energy to even remove her tunic.

"Zuko-," she stopped speaking as she saw him bitterly turning his back to her in turning onto his side.

She sighed softly and shut her eyes, wondering why he was angry with her.

**

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**

"Men, we have a spy in our midst. Our dear Lee is a firebender." Long Feng glanced over the table. "And upon inspection of records, he is more than just a firebender, but Firelord Zuko."

The men murmured slightly. Mr. Dong's eyebrows came together as he brought his thin lips together in a scowl. A firebender had snuck under his nose. The Firelord, the scum of the universe was under his roof.

"I will admit that I was sure of this on first sight of him, though did not want to jump to conclusions without evidence, which he has provided in his stances in a duel this evening. We must use this to our advantage. Play him, let him believe we do not suspect anything. And once we have destroyed the Earth King, we will assassinate the Firelord before he leaves Ba Sing Se." Long Feng stabbed the bottom of his fist at the table, an evil smirk on his face.

"Long Feng, how do you suppose we do this?" one of the Dai Li spoke.

"He will be an aid to us in blasting the Earth King sky high, and then we will need leverage to lure him here. I suggest the water peasant will do a fine job, after all one can assume she has no line of defense bar for waterbending, which she has obviously prohibited herself from using."

They looked up, confused.

"TeiLyn is a Southern Waterbender by the name of Katara. She, alongside the Avatar and his band of rebels are the reason we no longer rule Ba Sing Se. Once we rule the palace again, we will bury her with the Firelord here. After all, I'm sure they planned to destroy the Laogai base at some point." Long Feng's hands linked behind his back. "Men, you are dismissed. Dong, keep the spies happy and listen in on their conversations." He snapped, before disappearing into the earth below him.

**

* * *

**

Ursa shoved her way to the front of the crowd, just in time to see the raven-haired man bring his back leg straight, his heel bent and his foot flat on the floor and his front leg at a ninety-degree angle, his weight centered at the ball of his foot, his one arm outstretched behind him, where his sword was held she had once seen a man wielding a flat palm, and his other pointed forwards with the sword where a fist would have been.

This was the move she had seen her son trying and failing to complete for two years of his boyhood. She wasn't able to see his face, but she could see where his head was pointed, at a girl in the crowd opposite, the same girl she had rescued two nights ago. The young man focused on her through the rain, before reluctantly changing his stance and swinging his swords as he surged forward. Ursa focused on the girl who watched in worry, and then back at the fighting man, who now had the earthbender down on the floor.

This was a firebender for certain. By his passion and movement, Ursa could tell. His name was Lee, she recalled TeiLyn saying. She then saw the boy storming away with his swords sheathed, and TeiLyn running after him. If a firebender was in Ba Sing Se, Ursa needed to meet him. He was obviously a refugee, a traitor to the Fire Nation, just like her. And he might know something of the war outside. Maybe even if Zuko was still alive. Last she'd heard of Zuko was that he'd been banished. She needed to know more.

Lee had obviously forced himself not to kill Akio, she concluded. This was very bad; she'd seen her husband, Ozai, show mercy to a soldier once and it had nearly killed him. Many questions raced through her head, but before she could know anything more, she needed to find them, and she knew just where to go to do that.

The Jasmine Dragon.

**

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**

**A/N: I told you it would speed up a little bit, didn't I? :) Okay, this chapter is longer than others; I tend to try and stick to about 2000 words, but I didn't want as big a cliffie in this, so I dragged it out a little. Zuko's little tantrum here is based roughly on the kind of tantrums I tend to throw; the 'don't talk to me' kind. He's figuring out a lot of things, I guess. Anyway, so here's the quote:**

**Zuko: Get out of the bison's mouth Sokka!**

**Haha, I love Zuko. Please review! Love yas! Xxx Rhia xxX**


	12. Chapter 12: What's a Geisha?

**A/N: I don't own Avatar. And I kind of got the idea for Zuko and his knife from a review from appa-N-momoforever7. Haley; this is me trying to speed things up! KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun; Yeah, I liked that the tantrum was a way for him to push her away. I really wanted to be able to do that, and the tantrum opened the door for it. AnnaAza; Yeah, I figured too much passion too fast would be too OOC, y'know?**

**I hate to miss anyone out, but I think we'd all just rather read the story, right? :) Just letting you know that every single review is appreciated!**

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Katara blinked her eyes open at the cheerful rays of sunlight sparkling in to meet her. She'd always been an optimist and the sun had always been a nice sight, but today it seemed too cheerful. Like inappropriately happy. What was there to be happy about? She immediately questioned her own sanity at asking herself this. She thought miserably over the events the previous night. They had never had a sip of any drink and yet she felt sick to her stomach. She was depressed, for the first time in her life.

She rolled onto her back and turned her head to look at Zuko. He was on his side, facing her with his eyes focused on her. He exhaled and sat up, avoiding her gaze.

They managed to get until the day was over before either of them said anything other than orders from the teashop.

"Stupid …" Zuko grumbled, forcing the key into the lock and throwing the door open.

Katara winced at the sound of the door hitting the wall, before lowering her eyes and following Zuko in. She shut the door gently behind herself, before peeling her shoes from her sore feet. She glanced at Zuko, who was leaning over the dining table with his head down low. She opened her mouth to speak, for the hundredth time that day, only to close it again with a heavy breath. She watched as he approached the mattress and dug through his bag. He pulled a dark object out and approached Katara with his hand outstretched with it. Katara glanced across his face and down to his hand.

"If we're going to be in Ba Sing Se for a while, you should know how to protect yourself without bending." He uncurled his fingers from it to reveal it was an ornate knife with a leather sheath on it.

Katara took the knife and looked at it, before looking back at Zuko.

"Show me your stance." He crossed his arms, stepping back.

Katara's eyebrows escalated as she swallowed and gripped the knife in her right hand, pushing her left leg back and rooting it down, the other foot firmly in front of her. She tightened her grip on the knife and outstretched her hand, her elbow still bent.

"Good." He came to her side. "Stab."

Katara glanced at him before flicking her wrist, the knife twisting in her hand as her elbow straightened. Zuko watched before putting his hand on her wrist. He moved the knife back until her elbow was bent again.

"Turn it as you stab." His voice was gentle as she stretched her arm out, turning her hand as it moved forward. "You'll do more damage that way."

Katara brought her eyebrows together as she examined his calm expression. He locked eyes with her for a moment, before glancing back to his hold on her arm.

"Ideally you don't want to get to the end of your arm." He moved her hand again in a stabbing motion.

"Right." Katara answered slowly. She stood up properly and outstretched the knife to give it back.

"Keep it." He smiled briefly, handing her the leather sheath. "I've got my swords."

Katara smiled softly, sliding the leather onto the knife. She tucked the knife between her tunic and leggings, under her waistband. "Thank you."

"I've been a jerk all day. I'm sorry." He pulled a frown. "The duel yesterday just …"

"I get it. It happens, you know? You showed enormous restraint, it was honorable." Katara smiled gently. "You looked pretty badass with those swords, I have to admit."

Zuko bit back a sort of smirk. "Thanks."

"I uh … I was going to get a bottle of something from Kai to bring back but … I don't really want to go down there alone." Katara pulled a frown with half of her face. "Even with the knife."

Zuko nodded understandingly. "There should be something else that we can do when we're bored, you know? Instead of going and getting drunk."

Katara nodded slowly. "Mm." was her reply. "Well, you know the area better than me."

He answered with a small scoff, before crossing his arms in thought. "Come on. I'm sure we'll find something to do."

An hour into the long walk down the romantically lit streets, Katara looked around, noticing something. Everything was quiet; barely any people roamed the street and the shops that usually had a night shift were dark and closed.

"Where is everyone?" she asked herself out loud.

Zuko glanced up at the sky. The moon was full, a few misty clouds lingering around it, threatening to cover it from their sight. "Weird." He looked back down to her. She was walking alongside him, two feet to his right. She had a slight smile on, her head tilted up toward the moonlight, basking in it, soaking up its energy.

"Did you know I once met the moon spirit?" she suddenly spoke.

"Oh?"

"I met the old one, which was a koi fish, but Zhao killed it and the Northern Water Tribe princess, Yue, sacrificed herself to save the moon." Katara looked back to him, still smiling.

"Oh, yeah. The moon was red."

"She was in love with Sokka." Katara blurted out. "Don't ask me why."

Zuko let out a laugh. "So … that's _Yue_ to you." Zuko looked back to the moon.

"Mm-hmm." Katara hummed. "Sometimes, when I'm bending at night, I can almost hear her voice. I didn't really know her that well, but now she's … like a sister."

Zuko nodded slightly. "We should probably shut up, you know." He gestured to their surroundings.

"Yeah." Katara sounded uninterested, focused on the moon. As they turned a corner, golden light and sound of a crowd filled the air, rainbow lanterns lingering above the streets as a festival came into view. Katara quickly gasped and grinned at it. "What are they celebrating?"

Zuko smiled at the sight, pointing into the crowd at a stall selling moon masks. "The full moon, apparently."

Katara grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into the crowd at a run toward a shanty stage with beautiful women dancing. Their faces were painted white with pink circles on their cheeks. Their eyebrows were shaved off and thin black painted lines ran over as eyebrows instead. Tiny, pouting lips were painted in red on their lips. They wore ornate earth kingdom dresses with their stomachs sucked in and their obviously long hair was tied up into amazing, intricate knots at the back of their heads, held in place by golden hairclips. One stepped forward as Zuko noticed a man in the crowd throw up his hand before shouting out.

"One hundred gold pieces!"

Katara brought her eyebrows together, before glancing at Zuko.

"One hundred and ten!"

"One twenty!"

A gavel clapped and the woman at the front of the stage bowed down and turned to get off the stage. Katara looked at Zuko in confusion.

"I don't get it." She spoke sheepishly.  
"What?" Zuko asked over the crowd.

"Did they just _sell _that woman?" Katara stepped back innocently.

Zuko glanced back at the stage. He tried to speak over the noise as another geisha women as another stepped to the front, turning in a solo dance in front of the bidders. Katara was disappearing backward into the crowd, staring at the stage in disbelief.

"Seventy!"

"Eighty!"

Zuko turned all around trying to see Katara. He caught sight of her as he heard a gavel clacking, and she was staring up at the scene, her eyes wide in confusion.

"Ninety!"

"Ninety-five!"

Zuko pushed his feet at the ground, shoving through the crowd after her. Katara gripped either side of her head. Were those pretty women _slaves? _Did Ba Sing Se allow that sort of thing? Why did the women seem so happy to be sold? Thoughts raced through her mind like a rampant river, washing through a village in a flood. She yelped as she felt a hand grip her by the wrist.

"What's wrong?" Zuko's voice was barely audible over the noise.

Katara shook her head and motioned to her ears, signaling that she couldn't hear him. She glanced back over his shoulder, to the stage. Yet another woman was bowing happily to be sold. She let out a gasp that sounded like a shout. Zuko nodded, pulling her out of the crowd, around a corner to where it was quieter.

"What happened back there?" Zuko asked her.

Katara shook her head. "Wh- what was that?" she swallowed.

"Geishas." He answered with a single word. "I thought you'd been to Ba Sing Se before."

Katara met his eyes, questioning his reply. "What's a geisha?"

Zuko exhaled slowly. "They're servant women. They're not like regular slaves."

"What? What do you mean _regular slaves_?" she snapped.

Zuko covered her mouth and brought his index finger to his lips, signaling for her to quiet down. He removed his hand from her mouth and cleared his throat. "There are slaves, then there are servants, and then there are … geishas."

"Well … what's … what do they do?"

"Ugh." Zuko exhaled awkwardly. "Slaves are usually prisoners of war. I remember Azula had a little girl slave from The Earth Kingdom when we were little who was the Earth King's niece." Zuko explained. "And servants are paid to help in the kitchen and clean up and fit clothes and stuff."

Katara nodded slowly. "And Geishas?"

Zuko gulped nervously. "Well … uh … they do a lot of things. I don't know if it's the same here as it is in the Fire Nation-,"

"Get to the point." Katara cut in with an exasperate sigh.

Zuko's shoulders sagged in awkwardness. "They're trained to … be companions. For … men."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow."

Zuko groaned. "They're neither slave nor servant; they submit themselves into being geishas. They're trained to do massages and sing and dance and stuff to please the men that buy them."

Katara nodded slowly. "Companions."

Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, leaning against the wall of a building. "Kind of."

Katara crossed her arms, exhaling in frustration. "It still doesn't make sense to me. You could have a servant to that."

Zuko motioned for her to come toward him with a heavy breath. Katara walked toward him and leant against the wall.

"They … erm … they satisfy um … _carnal needs_ … for their men." His voice was a low whisper.

Katara's eyes widened as she glared at him. She whacked him in the arm.

"Ow!" he jerked his arm away from her. "What was that for?"

"How the hell do _you _know about them then?" she snapped.

Zuko scoffed a laugh. "What, are you jealous or something?"

"No, I just think the whole concept is disgusting. Answer the question!"

Zuko took a moment to think about it. "My father bought me one when I was eleven. She must've been nineteen or twenty."

Katara scrunched up her face in disgust. "You know what, I don't want to hear this."

Zuko laughed. "It's not like that. She taught me to do massages. My dad found out that we weren't …" Zuko trailed off. "… He had her beheaded."

Katara's face dropped. "Oh." She took his hand in hers. "Right."

"That was my first execution." Zuko looked down slightly.

Katara bit her lip. "Well, she was an excellent teacher." She managed out.

Zuko smiled slowly. "Yeah." He turned his head to look at her. He leant over to kiss her on the cheek. "Listen. We really need to talk about … us."

Katara nodded back. "Yeah."

"I love what we've got, but I don't want to feel this … guilt, you know?" He squeezed her hand gently.

Katara exhaled. "Come with me." She held his hand tightly and led him out into the festival, through the crowd, out the other side and between more buildings. She led him like that until they got to the outskirts of the lower ring. They could see Lake Laogai in the distance, but Katara led Zuko away from it, out into some grassland. Katara sat down on the grass. Civilization was out of earshot now. Zuko sat with her.

"So." He cleared his throat.

Katara glanced up at the moon again. Her sister, the moon, shone down on them. _Yue, help me now. He's going to break my heart. Help me use my tears to put it back together._

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**A/N: hey people. If I get my own way with it, this chapter should be of significance later. Depends whether my evil half (spawned by my Zuko fangirling) wants me to make Mai go all apeshit. This is one of the chapters that I haven't uploaded with the next one already written, so it'll take me a day or two to get the next one up, sorry! I know the ending is a little cheesy, but I'm trying to make Katara less OOC and ... well, this is what I came up with. LOL! I would have the next chap up as a twin, but I've been immersed all day in Fanon that was (get this, it freaked me out too) Kataang. I was like WTF? What's the point of Kataang in a fanon? ARGH! it defies logic! It was clearly labeled as fanon, and then twelve chaps in (i'm deep in it now, waiting for the Zutara to kick in) and then BAM i get slapped in the face with the kataang stick! That's all they ever say;_ 'Oh, it's canon, it's canon! Neener-neener bryke did it our way!'_**

**You already have the canon. DO NOT PRETEND TO BE FANON!**

**But read on, it gets worse, my friends! Sixteen chapters in, I get hit harder.**

**With the MAIKO stick! NO! Because the other one was just a snuggly (sarcastic for an awkward and uncoordinated FAIL, just what we feed on in Kataang) kiss on the cheek, implying the relationship. The maiko stick whacks me with this: Zuko pointlessly announces he's married Mai without inviting anyone. My broken little Zutara heart sinks in confusion.**

**So yeah, my heart has died a little today :( Finishing this chap really cheered me up though :) I think I might know where I'm going with it, I even asked my mom what a Geisha was. How crazy is that? Google says it's an entertainer and my mom says it's um ... well _that_! HA! I love my mom. Okay, so here's the quote! Love yas!**

**Because I need some inspirational words of Zuko badass-ness (and because it was about time we saw Ozai a little bit uneasy):**

******Fire Lord Ozai**: (alarmed) What ! **  
****Zuko**: In fact, he probably is leading this invasion. He could be on us right now. **  
****Fire Lord Ozai**: _(stands up and points, furious) _Get out! Get out of my sight right now if you know what's good for you. **  
****Zuko**: That's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore. **  
****Fire Lord Ozai**: _(__seething with rage) _You will obey me or this defiant breathe will be your last!

_(Ozai begins to walk towards Zuko, until Zuko unsheathes his broadswords and brandishes them at him.)_  
**  
****Zuko**: Think again! I am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen. **  
**

**Totally wish I could talk like that to my dad. My parents are divorced. The coolest thing I ever said to my dad when I was SIX: If you weren't three times my size I'd bloody thump you! Pretty cool, but it doesn't top Zuko's 'speakin his mind' if you get what I mean. Haha, wow I talk too much... Review! xxxxXxxxx**


	13. Chapter 13: Reunion

Katara returned with Zuko to the festival, avoiding the stage of painted women. She held his hand with a slight smile, remembering his words.

"_We'll make it work. We'll find a way to make it work."_

She knew it was going to be hard, but they'd dealt with worse. She looked up from their linked hands when Zuko stopped in the crowd, staring up. She looked at him, and then up to the sky where he was looking. There were a handful of men on a roof, using spark rocks to light something. They stepped back from what was now sparking, and a flare flew up into the sky. Zuko smiled as a colorful green explosion filled the air with a familiar sound. Katara smiled also.

"Fireworks." She called over the crowd cooing and hollering at the explosion.

Zuko pulled her further into the clusters of people, more flashes exploding overhead. He stopped at the familiar fountain, where people were standing on its edges to get a better view over the crowd. Zuko stepped up and pulled Katara up with him, turning her toward the explosions. A purple firework exploded in unison with a white one, closely followed by red and green and pink.

Katara smiled brightly at the flashes illuminating her face as Zuko put his arms around her from behind. She brought her hands together in front of her chest as Zuko's forearms crossed each other at her waist. The sound of the blasts and voices filled the air. The whole situation reeked of poverty, romance and simple pleasures. Katara turned her head awkwardly, inviting Zuko to kiss her. Zuko smiled at her and pressed a gentle kiss onto her soft lips. It was perfect how here in Ba Sing Se he didn't have to worry what people would think. Katara smiled into the kiss, pulling away and laughing softly as a few bright red explosions lit up the sky.

She melted into the arms he held around her, smiling blissfully as she looked up at the sky. Zuko couldn't help but pull half his face into a smile, the blue light of the newest explosion illuminating Katara's tanned face and beautiful blue eyes. He put another kiss on her cheek, causing her to giggle, bringing her hands down over his. The rockets whistled up into the sky before exploding with crackles, almost directly overhead.

Katara gripped his hand, pulled him down from the fountain and tugged him through the crowd. Somewhere along the way, Katara let go of his hand and let him chase her for old times sake. She assumed she'd gotten quite far ahead because when someone tugged her into a dark alley, Zuko wasn't directly on her tail. Katara yelped and put her hands out to catch her as she raced toward the ground.

"I still got it." A smug female voice was quiet. "So who's the firebender?"

Katara climbed to her feet to see nothing but shadows. "Who are you?" she whirled around looking for the source of the voice.

"I'm no one. Answer the question. Who is he and where can I find him?" The voice was familiar.

Katara stepped back to go and find Zuko, to feel a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around to look at the taller woman with a shout. "Ah!" she yelped.

"Look, I'm no enemy of yours." The woman pushed dark hair out of her face.

"Joo Dee!" Katara squeaked.

The other woman raised an eyebrow. "Good, you recognize me. I helped you, right? So help me."

Katara blinked. "What firebender?" she answered after thinking about her answer.

"Lee; your boyfriend. He's a firebender. I expect you knew that." She was very goal-oriented, Katara noted.

Katara brought her eyebrows together, examining Ursa's face. "How do you know he's a firebender?"

"I saw him fighting yesterday. I recognized his stance. I'm not a spy if that's what you think."

Katara shook her head. "No, but I am. If I blow my cover the whole operation goes south." She explained. "I know who you are, Ursa. I'm on your side."

Ursa nodded respectfully. "Come with me. We need to talk." She led Katara back into the alley.

"What about Z-" Katara stopped herself. "What about Lee?"

"If you know where to find him, we'll be fine. Come." Ursa instructed the waterbender.

Not long later, Katara was following Ursa into a dark house that she'd been in before. A lamp lit up in the corner unexpectedly.

"Who's there?" a voice snapped.

"It's just me, Akio." Ursa answered, lighting another candle with spark rocks.

Katara twisted on her feet to look at the man on the other side of the room. She stumbled back away from him, only to feel Ursa's hand on her shoulder.

"You." He snorted confusedly. "Why is she here?" Akio grumbled.

"I rescued her after you attacked her. I believe you owe her an apology for that too." Ursa crossed her arms.

Akio scoffed. "Your boyfriend is a very skilled swordsman."

"That doesn't sound like an apology to me." Ursa snapped.

Akio grumbled slightly. "I'm sorry. What's going on, Ursa?"

Ursa turned to Katara. "I met Akio six months ago, after his father was killed in war. He was wandering the streets and he tried to mug me. He failed, and I took him in. I suspect he mugged you because I refused to lend him money for drinks."

Katara nodded slowly. "Right."

"Akio, go to the festival and find Lee. He should follow you if you tell him you have information on the Dai Li. That is why you're here, is it not, TeiLyn?"

Katara nodded as Akio left. How she would love to see how that would go down. Ursa sat down on a mat on the floor. Katara sat down next to her.

"How did you know all that? About the Dai Li?"

"I followed the agent that was following you."

Katara squinted at Ursa. "What agent?"

The older woman put her hands into their opposite sleeves. "And that is why they're called agents. Now, tell me what your mission is."

"The Dai Li are planning to assassinate the Earth King, re-engage in war and assassinate the Firelord."

Ursa paused for a moment. "What do you mean 're-engage'?"

Katara swallowed. _Of course, _she thought bitterly. _Ba Sing Se knows nothing about the war. She wouldn't have heard about the war ending. _"Three months ago I was part of an expedition with the Avatar. The goal was to defeat Firelord Ozai and reinstate Iroh as Firelord, who at that time had joined forces with us."

Ursa nodded. "This is going to be a long explanation. Let me put on some tea." She stood. "Continue." She added, approaching the stove on the other side of the room.

Wow, no wonder Iroh liked her. She liked tea almost as much as he did. "Before this, Prince Zuko had joined our group and taught the Avatar firebending."

Ursa turned from the stove. "Zuko's alive?" her voice cracked.

Katara smiled and nodded. "And well. He and I fought Princess Azula while the Avatar fought Ozai. She showed no mercy; she blasted lightning at me and Zuko threw himself in the way. I owe him my life."

Ursa smiled proudly. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"I was able to heal him. Iroh refused to take the crown and so Zuko became the new Firelord." Katara cleared her throat. "Firelord Zuko."

Ursa leant back over the tea. "I missed the coronation, then."

"Well, there will be another, more official one when he reaches his eighteenth birthday, I hear. Zuko told me he wouldn't get married until he found you. He wants you to be at his wedding. He sent battalions and search parties all over the world trying to find you. I wouldn't let him leave the palace until his wound from Azula healed, you see."

Ursa brought the tea toward Katara, sitting. "He always was a Mama's boy. Not that that ever bothered me." She smiled softly. "Tell me more. I've missed so much."

"I'm sure you heard of his banishment, if nothing else."

Ursa nodded. "Three years ago, I believe."

"He told me the story once. He went to his first military meeting and spoke out against a plan to sacrifice young recruits. This somehow got him into an Agni Kai with Ozai."

Ursa looked up from her tea and said nothing, confused but intent to hear the rest.

"Zuko refused to fight his father. Ozai scarred him badly; to this day, Zuko has a terrible scar over his left eye and ear. He was banished for cowardice. He was told the only way he could return with his honor was to capture the Avatar."

"But you just said he taught him to firebend."

"He did. But we first met him while he was trying to capture Aang." Katara smiled reminiscently. "Even then he was charming."

Ursa smiled softly. "You care very much for my son."

Katara nodded slowly. "Yes I do." She spoke. She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Iroh was the one who traveled with Zuko. He made sure he was always on the right path. Taught him to redirect lightning." Katara added.

"Impressive." Ursa smiled before taking a sip of the tea. "So my banishment is lifted, I suppose."

Katara nodded again. "You can travel back to the Fire Nation with us."

"And I will see Zuko as soon as we return?" Ursa asked hopefully.

Katara blinked. Oh, right. "My name isn't TeiLyn, by the way. It's Katara. And Lee isn't actually a Lee."

"Well then who is he?" Ursa stood up. Katara stood up also.

At that, the door opened and the two men poured in. Zuko looked very suspicious.

"He's …" Katara stopped and swallowed. "He's Zuko." She managed out awkwardly. Yeah, that could've been done better, she thought to herself. Zuko pushed his wild raven hair from his face and looked up. He looked at Ursa. Ursa looked at him. There was long pause in which nobody spoke. Even Akio knew better than to speak. Ursa felt her mouth open in surprise. Zuko instantly recognized his mother, his mouth closing in preparation of words, but none came. Katara glanced from one to the other, waiting for a beautiful reunion scene.

Zuko was taken by surprise as his mother threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He was now slightly taller than her. He gulped back a sob and hugged her back, tears rolling down his face. He squeezed his eyes tightly and buried his face into her shoulder, feeling his mother crying into him as he allowed his own tears to flow freely down his face.

Katara motioned to Akio to follow her out of the room. She didn't know him very well and she knew she was dumb trusting him after he'd attacked her, but she'd forgiven far worse. She led Akio onto the small balcony that he and Zuko had just used.

"They've got a lot to talk about. Just leave them be for a while." Katara told him gently.

Akio nodded in confusion. "What's going on?"

"I'm guessing Ursa's told you who she is."

Akio nodded. "She was a Fire Nation Princess."

"Yes. Zuko, my boyfriend is her son. They haven't seen each other in a long time, so I think it's best we leave them for a while." Katara explained, though hesitant to give him information.

"Are they going back to the Fire Nation?"

Katara nodded. "Yes."

"You'll never get out past the Dai Li. They know who you are now."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Hm?" she held a cup of tea in her hands.

"I saw you at the Dai Li conference. I'm a Dai Li agent. Ursa told me that was the best way to get information. I never told her any of it because … well I didn't want her to leave. She's the only person that's ever cared what I wanted."

Katara exhaled slowly. "Maybe you should meet my friend Toph. She's an earthbender, like you. She's blind, but she uses her earthbending to see. As much as she loves her parents, she doesn't live with them because they don't understand her. She left them because she didn't want to hurt them, or let them control her. Sometimes leaving something you care about is best for both sides." Katara smiled slightly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Akio nodded. "Akio." He put his hand out for her to shake.

"Katara." Katara shook it.

"I'm sorry I attacked you. I know it's no excuse, but I needed the money for Long Feng. He lent me money before. He was going to have me brainwashed if I didn't pay him back." Akio sighed. "They know who you are. I was at the last meeting. They're playing like they don't, but they're planning to assassinate the Firelord; your boyfriend, before you can leave Ba Sing Se."

Katara made humming noise. "Why? Why are they waiting?"

"They figure they can trick you into helping them. Or maybe they're going to make it look like they were trying to stop you; so when they get you it looks like justice. I'm not sure; I don't get invited to the senior meetings. Long Feng, Dong and Lei Sho meet afterwards for private meetings."

Katara tapped the empty cup against the railing she was leant against. "Huh. Hey, do you know how the brainwashing works? Luckily I never got to find out."

Akio laughed slightly. "It's based on flashing images. A moving lamp is used to induce a deep trance-like state in which you can easily mould the mind into believing anything you want. Ursa said it didn't work on her because that's how people used to talk to her anyway in the palace." Akio crossed his arms.

Katara nodded slowly, glancing back at the door. She could hear the two of them talking inside. "Were you close to your dad?" she asked.

Akio exhaled. "Yeah. He was an earthbender too. My mom wouldn't let him teach me to bend; she wanted me to go to school and be a playwright or something like that. I remember this one time when he took me down to Lake Laogai in the middle of the night and showed me a whole bunch of earthbending tricks while my mom was asleep. Sometimes it's like I saw him just yesterday, you know?" Akio leant into the rail.

"Yeah. My mom died in a Fire Nation raid, when I was four or five. For ages I would wake up and ask her out of habit what we were having for breakfast." She breathed out. "It gets better after a while."

"It's still pretty fresh. The funeral. Running away. It wasn't really all that long ago." Akio smiled slowly. "You know, I really feel like a jerk for mugging you. Again, I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven. And I don't forgive easily." Katara smiled lopsidedly. "So things are bad between you and your mom, then?"

Akio sighed. "I don't understand her. She wants me to marry this second cousin of the Earth King's nephew or something like that, become nobility and get rich. I was either going to leave and join the army or stay with her, and so I made my own choice and I got out of there. I'm originally from the upper ring." He stood straight and leant against the wall opposite, hearing the cracked murmur of tearful voices inside.

He moved his arm to scratch his head, when a he heard a loud whipping noise that stood out from the whistling of fireworks. His arm was pinned against the wall by what felt like a hand. He looked up to see if Katara was attacking him in retaliation or something, only to see the clay hand trapping him to the wall. He felt his other wrist clapped against the wall. Katara tossed her head, looking over her shoulder. The dark shadow-like agents raced down the street toward them. Another clay hand came darting toward her. She ducked and heard the hand punching into the wall, Akio shouting in panic. Katara breathed in the moon's energy, snatching water from a barrel below and slicing it over either hand on Akio. He tugged free of the wall and grabbed her arm, pulling her into the house and earthbending the wall to fill its arch.

Zuko looked up from Ursa, quickly wiping his face. "What's going on?" he swallowed to clear his throat.

"The Dai Li are literally outside. They figured us out." Katara spoke hastily, her hands hovering near her sides, enveloped in large orbs of water.

Ursa brought her eyebrows together. "There's a back way out. Come on." She dragged her sleeve over her face to dry it, leading them out of the room into a small cupboard. She pushed two dresses to the side and revealed a dark door at the back. She shoved it open, revealing the street below. Akio put his hand on the dark stonewall before pulling it away and punching it, a steep slope of rock extending from the foot of the door, down to the street. Akio pushed his way down first, editing any structural flaws in it as he moved along. Katara followed him down, with Ursa and then Zuko after her.

They were nearly to the end of the dark street, their feet pelting the ground mercilessly. The earth gave a groan beneath them as the end of the street closed up, a thick layer of earth rising with Dai Li atop it. Akio leapt and kicked at the wall, a circle outlining itself where he was about to punch a hole through. The earth melted and sucked in his foot, before the Dai Li jumped down.

"It appears you are surrounded." Long Feng's voice came from behind them.

Zuko, Katara and Ursa whirled around, counting seven Dai Li, including the three behind now behind them. Zuko glanced at Katara. Katara was looking from Long Feng to the other Dai Li, calculating her attack strategy. She looked back to Zuko, who was ready to go along with her plan, whatever it was. Katara took a deep breath before stretching out her arms and bringing the water up in an arc over her head.

"Ah, of course. I should have known better than to expect you not to resist arrest." Long Feng smirked. "Which is why I didn't."

Zuko looked over his shoulder to his mother before assuming a firebending stance and looking from one agent to the next. He locked eyes with Katara, almost in a race for the first move. They'd shared this gaze before, only when they were against each other at the North Pole. A smirk lit up Katara's face, and he instantly knew how to proceed. Katara swung her arms low as she tossed one leg past Zuko. Zuko did the same motion, a streak of fire lighting the dim street as he swapped places with her. Ursa stepped back to help Akio try to pull himself from the wall of sandy earth.

Katara spun in a fluid motion, bringing the water into a one-handed whip and snapping it at two Dai Li agents while Zuko blasted another two away with a calculated flash of bright orange fire. He tossed his head and grabbed Katara's hand, pulling her close to him, turning his back so she covered him. She whipped at two of the agents trying to grab hold of Ursa while Zuko attended to the one left that had moved to his side.

As the agents fell, there was a slow, mocking applause. Katara stepped away from Zuko and eyed Long Feng with just as much scrutiny as he eyed them.

"While I cannot possibly deny that I love a good fight, I simply don't have the time to fight you alone. Enjoy your stay in old Ba Sing Se." he held his hands in his opposite sleeves before stamping one foot down on the ground and sucking Ursa down into a dark hole. Her shout alarmed Zuko as he thrashed his head to look over his shoulder at her disappearing into the earth. Akio's foot detached from the earth wall as he tugged it free and pushed both feet onto the floor, not long before the earth gave way under him to Long Feng's bending. He said nothing; he doubted the Dai Li knew who Ursa was, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Zuko felt the earth growling underneath him and looked at Katara. "Remember I said I'd tell you when we were getting in too deep?"

At this, Katara let out a small laugh, before the ground opened up underneath him and the earth swallowed him. She shut her eyes and waited for the ground to split open. She was suddenly falling fast and all she could think to do was scream as she plummeted.

* * *

**A/N: Did I not say things were gonna speed up? This is in no way a finale. NOT AT ALL, ok? Thanks so much to everyone who helped improve my knowledge on geishas, they've made it possible for me to truly consider expanding the idea in a later chapter! I didn't honestly know what Zuko and Ursa would have to say to eachother, and I doubted Katara would either, so I just leant on that. Yes, it's kinda lazy, but what the hell. Who's shocked about how I put Akio in? Me too! The idea came to me when I thought about 'how are they gonna get out of Ba Sing Se unnoticed' ? He'll fit in later. In case anyone's wondering, he's not a very powerful earthbender; I wanted him to still have some stuff to learn. Anyway, his character will be explored in a little more detail later.**

**Yes, this chapter is a hell of a lot longer than the others; I figured, since things were moving so fast, you might as well have more to read.**

**Quote: Aang: it doesn't work like that, Sokka. It's more like ... OOooooOOOoooo (does weird dance)**

**My Little Brother's birthday today! Dedicated to him; Double digits at last!**

**Can't wait to further exploit Ursa's memory of Zuko's childhood!**


	14. Chapter 14: Stir Crazy

Katara held her hands out in front of her as they smacked down against cold dirt. They did nothing to break her fall as the force of the drop slapped her face onto the ground. She felt heavy for a moment, thinking of her surroundings. Green light poured from the walls in her hazy vision. She rested her head on the floor for a moment, trying to keep herself from throwing up. The tunnel she had slid through in the earth had twisted and turned many times before spitting her out here. She blinked slowly, pushing herself onto her hands and knees. She felt a hand on her shoulder as she pushed herself up to her feet.

"Ow." She muttered out, bringing her hand to her face to rub the dirt away.

"You okay?" Zuko's voice was almost emotionless.

Katara looked up to meet his eyes, examining his face. She couldn't distinguish what about him was different. She nodded slowly, rubbing her temple momentarily. She'd suddenly gotten a huge headache from the fall. Maybe it was adrenaline shooting through her veins. He nodded in acknowledgement before looking around the familiar catacombs. Katara evaluated their surroundings also.

"Where are the others?" she rasped out, feeling sick in her stomach.

Zuko didn't answer, looking away. He was already asking himself that question repetitively. He couldn't lose his mother again. If they laid a finger on her he would have them killed mercilessly. He would make them suffer and die in agony.

Katara looked over him, immediately reading his mind. "She'll be fine, Zuko. We just need to find a way to get to Long Feng-,"

"Right. So he can beat us again. What _was_ that back there? We took on Azula, how could we possibly have gotten beat by … by _that_?" he snapped at her, tossing his arms high in the air and starting to pace.

Katara said nothing, counting the seconds before he spoke again.

"I don't understand! I'm supposed to be this amazing Firebender, the _Firelord_, and I can't take out one stupid old man?" Zuko shouted into the air, locking his fingers behind his head. "How is that even possible?" he cried out, before shouting out in frustration, breathing fire from his nostrils.

Katara turned her back to him, hearing his heavy footsteps and the rays of fire he spat into the air with his fists trying to recreate the error they made. What had the error been? Katara cursed herself for allowing Long Feng to pause and speak. She could have caught him off-guard easily.

"-_I'm not going to lose her again!_" she heard Zuko's voice growling out with another shot of crackling fire. "And what about _you_?"

Katara shut her eyes before turning back to look at him. "What _about _me?"

"Why didn't you tell me you found her?" Zuko glared at her. "You've seen the pictures, I know you recognized her."

Katara exhaled. "I thought she was brainwashed. She said her name was Joo Dee."

"Why didn't you tell me then?" Zuko walked toward her.

She instinctively took a step back. "Because I didn't know if she'd remember you."

This didn't seem to please the Firelord. He growled out and tossed his head, fire curling around him as he marched another step toward her. "You should have told me!"

Katara turned her head away from him. "I wasn't sure." Her voice was quiet and sheepish.

"But you _knew _it was her!" Zuko shouted, only three feet from her, practically shouting in her face.

Katara continued to look down, away from his burning gaze. He was starting to scare her, and he didn't seem to notice.

"You _lied _to me!" he bellowed, grabbing her forearms and shaking her roughly, bringing her to meet his eyes. "You _know _how much I needed this! I might lose it all over again!" he shook her harder, trying to illicit some noise or reaction from her. "_Say_ something!" he finally yelled.

Katara trembled under his tight grip and asked herself where the gentle boy she'd been kissing mere hours ago had gone. She glanced from his good eye to his scarred one, trying to find words. His grip tightened on her forearms as she opened her mouth with a sharp gasp, curling her fingers as they shook on her hands. He quaked her once more with an angry shout, bringing her to cry out and pull away from him, gripping her eyes shut and stumbling back to get away from his harsh eye. Zuko blinked in confusion for a moment, before realizing the error of his ways with a raise of his brow and his mouth falling open as he leant back at his own actions.

"I'm sorry, I didn't-," he took a step toward her, his arms falling to his sides.

"Get away from me." Katara murmured bitterly, backing away.

"Katara," Zuko's voice was broken.

Katara turned her back to him and walked toward the edge of the cavern. "When this is all done, you can go home with your mommy and marry your little princess. See if I care." She spat, laying her hand against the cool green crystals that lined the wall.

Zuko mentally attacked himself. How could he not have enough control over himself to keep his hands off the woman he cared so deeply for? For this same woman he had nearly firebent against Akio in anger for his attacking her. He felt his stomach lurching at the thought of what he could've done to Katara. She cared for him too. It was obvious; and she was obviously hurt by the fact that she didn't know whether or not she could trust him.

"I promise you Mai will show no hesitation in stabbing you to death if you lay your hands on her." Katara curled up in a shady, dark corner of the cavern, sinking to the ground. "Marry her."

"This isn't about her. This is about us." Zuko managed out.

"No, it's about your _inability _to control yourself. I swear to La, Zuko, you touch me and I will hurt you. When this is over I want nothing to do with you, ever again. You can stop pretending we have to go and make it work because this is _over_."

Zuko sighed heavily, sitting down where he was. "You're right. I should be able to control myself." He forced out the words. "I don't want to hurt you."

Katara looked up from the ground to glance at him. He was combing his hands through his hair stressfully. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get hurt."

Zuko peeked up. "Huh?"

"If she was brainwashed, wouldn't you have rather spent your whole life searching for her than to find out she doesn't remember you?" Katara spoke up. "You'd at least have hope."

The firebender looked back down. "Uncle was right, this isn't a vacation. I've made more mistakes on this trip than I've made in my whole life, and that's saying something."

Katara let out a humorless, dry laugh. "Am I a mistake?"

"No. No, you'll never be a mistake, whatever you decide to do. Leave or stay, I'm always going to love you. I'm never going to regret what we did here." Zuko smiled softly.

Katara looked down again. "I'm always going to love you too." She breathed in. "We need to finish this mission before anything else. I'm so sick of Ba Sing Se, if I ever come back it'll be too soon."

Zuko fell back to lie down. "Katara." He spoke, looking up.

"Mm-hmm?" she answered.

"If we're going to try any make this work, you can't let me do stuff like that. You have my full permission to kill me if I touch you in a way you don't like." Zuko shut his eyes honestly.

"Trust me, I'm not going to hold back anymore." Katara answered with a slight laugh. She gripped herself tightly, clenching her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. Winter was approaching like a flood.

"Are you cold?" Zuko asked slowly, carefully.

"Mm-hmm." She hummed out, before getting up and sitting down again next to him. She took his hand non-hesitantly and brought it up between hers. He carefully put his other hand on the base of her spine, warmth enveloping her body. He was slow, thoughtful and calculated; making sure she was comfortable in every move he made. She realized just how much that little scene had affected him. She took the calloused hand in hers and brought it to her neck, the warm fingers caressing her cold skin. Zuko sat up and focused more on his grasp of her.

"I love you." He leant and whispered in her ear. It was honest and tentative. While romance was not it's main entity, Katara could see what he was trying to explain; that he was trusting her not to break his heart, just as she was trusting him. With this trust, Katara felt no shame in the lustful energy behind the kiss she brought to his lips. She let go of his hand and brought her soft ones to his face, twisting at his side to melt into him.

"I love you." She murmured, pulling away. She pulled one hand down to his chest, two fingers either side of the top button high up on his neck. She unhooked the button, kissing him again, moaning quietly.

As the second button became unhitched, Zuko brought his hand up to the hand on his chest, stopping her. He moved his lips away from hers. "Katara." His voice was gentle, a hinge of nervousness and an undertone of surprise twisting into her name.

Glancing down at the unfastened button between her fingers, she answered him calmly. "This is what I want. I want you."

"Not here. Not like this." He held her hand to his chest. "I want you just as much, but I want it to be good. I want you to feel like a princess, on a warm bed; not here on the floor in the cold." He brought his other hand from her back and up to her cheek.

This brought a hesitant smile to her face. "You'll still want me when we go back to being us again?"

"Katara, I'll want you forever." He answered, before letting a charming smile onto his face. He kissed her gently before putting his arms around her, keeping her warm. She smiled into him, hugging him tight as she lay down in his arms, warmth caressing her. She nestled into his form and shut her eyes slowly. While rejection had never been something she had to deal with, she didn't mind it like that. Zuko was right; this, here, now would've been wrong. She felt his hand cover hers and she moved to touch her mother's necklace, only to discover it wasn't there.

**

* * *

**

Katara was pacing again. Zuko had counted a week, assuming they were sleeping about twelve hours. Katara kept insisting it was longer, and that by now Iroh had to be getting worried. She was walking back and forth in large circles in the centre of the cavern. She had dark circles under her eyes and while she was too tired to speak most of the time, she had the energy to pace back and forth.

"I can't feel the moon. I haven't felt the moon in ages, I can't even bend anymore." Katara murmured to herself, once again trying to bend the water dripping from the ceiling, to no avail.

Zuko sighed. It was the same with the sun. He was restless and exhausted, yet found some mild sense of peace in staying still and meditating on important matters. Important matters being intricate little fantasies in his head as he now considered Katara's body. Imagined her form and remembered the grace and elegance in her swift, fluid movements. With her exhaustion now, she wasn't much of an example for that swirling waterbender he'd once seen. He knew she was in there, not too deep down.

She just needed to see her sister, the moon, just as he needed to feel the sun on his skin. He'd been cold for days now. Katara had too, but she was too stir-crazy to admit it. She would eventually stop and look around for a way out, before pacing again. When she stopped, Zuko took it upon himself to insist she ate the fruits and stale bread that a Dai Li agent would bring them occasionally. He'd brought for them four times, and yet Zuko knew they'd been there at least a week. He'd given up on trying to get Katara to stop pacing. At that moment, the ground made a heavy grinding noise and Katara's attention peaked. Zuko also looked up; they'd last received food twelve hours ago. They weren't due for food, at least not by his calculations. His stomach disagreed, letting out a grumbling noise that even Katara could hear. Her own stomach growled for food in reply.

"It's your lucky day; you're being moved." The Dai Li agent marched down into the catacomb and effortlessly took hold of Katara's arm. She was limp and exhausted, too tired to fight back.

Zuko got up to his feet and looked at the agent.

"Not you. Just her." He answered simply, shoving Katara along, up toward the dim light of green lanterns up ahead.

Katara turned her head and looked at Zuko. She wanted to give him some words of support like, 'hang in there' or 'it'll be okay', however all she could muster up the energy to do was stare at him in fear of where she was going. Zuko smacked his chapped lips as she disappeared, the earth closing behind her.

**

* * *

**

Lake Laogai was up ahead. Katara felt energy flooding her as the half moon up above poured its power into her. _Hello, Yue. How long have I been gone? _She smiled blissfully, before a Dai Li agent shoved her out of her trance. She tossed her head and glared at one of the four agents escorting her. She could run, she supposed. She probably wouldn't get that far, though. If she found Akio, she could even get out of the city, _and then be trapped in the desert_. Stairs opened up in front of her as her eye caught an unfamiliar object floating in the water. She discreetly bent waves of water, pushing the object toward her quickly. The Dai Li agent shoved her again, motioning toward the stairs. She bent the object toward herself, out of the water and into her hands. At the shameless bending, the Dai Li agents all attacked the ground and the earth literally sucked her down into the staircase. It closed up behind them as she looked down at the mask in her hands. It was scary; blue and white with sharp canines.

"Move it!" she stumbled with another shove as she held onto the china mask to make sure she didn't drop it. She didn't know why she liked it. Maybe it was the only thing she had from the outside world again.

The agents shoved her into a small, dark room of metal. She looked at the mask again, sinking to her knees as the lights went out. Her eyes never adjusted to the dark. They kept it dark even when they served her food. She was never sure what her food was exactly. She was there for days, she was sure. She was awake for those days too, because the metal floor was too cold even to touch with bare skin. Her only company was that of the voiceless object in the corner; a faint, distant smell of smoke inside it. Eventually, she sank into a dark sleep following a panicked attempt to break the door down with her fingernails. She dreamt of what Zuko had promised her; the beautiful night of passionate, gentle embracing. She blinked her eyes open, waiting for the dark. When it came, she slipped back into depression. The mask that had been under her hands was gone, and yet she didn't care.

**

* * *

**

"There is no war. There has never been a war. The nations coexist with each other peacefully. You have no name. You have no past. You have no one and you have nothing. You are an assassin and your target is the Earth King. The world will change. The world will become greater. The Earth King must die tonight." There was a flash. As the lamp moved away, Zuko's eyes adjusted to the man chanting calmly in front of him.

"There is no war. There has never been a war." The agent repeated. "The Earth King must die tonight." He turned and presented Zuko with a familiar blue mask.

"You are the Blue Spirit."

Zuko smirked inside his own head.

**

* * *

**

**A/N: I stayed up 'til 6AM writing this, man. Yes, I got home at midnight, but that's only because I worked 'til noon sorting out a freakin' party. UGH. So tired. I had an urge to do a chapter tonight. This chapter is mostly filler than anything else. I'm half asleep here, sorry. I owe you guys a really AWESOME Blue Spirit scene, kay? Quote for this chap:**

_**Aang: You're crazy, aren't you?**_

_**Old Lady: Yes!**_


	15. Chapter 15: Blindsided

Zuko was starting to fall asleep. Only Agni knew how long he'd been sitting with his wrists tied behind his back, listening to a Dai Li agent almost as boring as his childhood etiquette teacher. He'd counted the lamp's orbits to keep himself to from letting his mind go numb. As it turned out, it was making him drowsy. He opened his eyes as wide as they would go to keep himself awake.

_One thousand, two hundred and fourteen. One thousand, two hundred and fifteen. One thousand, two hundred and sixteen._

He blinked again, noticing that the Dai Li agent had stopped talking. He disappeared under the ground and left Zuko with the circling lamp. His eyes fluttered drowsily as he forced himself to sit up straighter. His muscles were sore and his back hurt a little from the discomfort of the wooden chair he was sitting in. He rolled his hands on his bound wrists, stretching out his fingers, feeling a flicker of fire on their ends. He brought his eyebrows together. He couldn't remember seeing the sun since before the catacombs. From behind, he could feel someone put the familiar blue spirit mask on him. The bindings on his wrists came off in a swift swish that he heard. He pulled his wrists apart and looked at them in front of him. They were chafed a little, but nothing Katara couldn't heal when he got to her.

He pushed himself up out of the chair and shrugged up. He suddenly noticed he was wearing an unfamiliar shirt. While it did bother him that he didn't remember changing clothes, he pulled up the hood on the black shirt so it came up to the edges of the mask. He was wearing black trousers over the brown trousers he had been wearing before. He knew this because he could feel the itchy fabric underneath the black material. His swords were on his back. He turned to look at the agent behind him, concealing the knife he'd used to cut Zuko's wrists free.

"You know who your target is." The agent stated as he opened the door and led Zuko out.

Zuko nodded, despite that the other man couldn't see him with his back turned. He took the leather gloves attached to his belt and put them on. He followed the agent, feeling unfamiliar black boots reaching up his shins, almost to his knees.

"Your partner will meet you at the palace."

Zuko said nothing, following the Dai Li agent through the dark halls. He recognized the Lake Laogai base. Katara had to be here. If she wasn't Ursa probably was. There was a chance Akio was here too. If he could find just one of them, he knew it would benefit him. Wait… Partner? If they believed they had brainwashed him into assassinating the Earth King, had they done the same to Katara? Or Ursa? Or Akio? It obviously wouldn't be Ursa; she (despite being able to sneak up on Katara) didn't have any fighting skills. And Akio was a poor excuse for an earthbender, too.

"Return to the lake after the deed is done."

Zuko saw moonlight up above as the staircase opened up into the world. He debated whether or not to leave the base. If Katara was their other puppet, she would be there waiting for him. Her common sense would tell her he was the other puppet, he figured. Reluctantly, he put his foot on the first step. He sensed the Dai Li agent turning his back to him, and in a swift motion, he drew his swords, turned on his heel and shot into the agent, elbowing him in the face and knocking him to the ground. The agent looked up as he hit the ground. The blue spirit was gone. He jumped to his feet and slapped the alarm on the wall. At the first alert sound, the entire base was aware there was an intruder in the building.

Katara looked up in her cell at the sound of alarms. She jumped to her feet and searched around in the dark for the door. She found it and hit it hard.

"Let me out of here!" she shouted out. She felt a wave of panic wash over her, desperate to get out of the dark. "Let me out!"

Zuko ducked through the shadows, trying to find someone. Where would holding cells be? Deep, right? He had to get a floor lower, he decided. Agents stormed through the hall around the corner. Zuko shot himself up into the air with a leap, grabbing hold of the support bars on the ceiling. He buried himself in the bars, flattening his back to the ceiling, watching them run under him. He dropped back to the floor and darted into the shadows again, almost crawling, his back close to the wall.

"Let me out! Agh!" Katara slammed her fists into the metal door, shouting out. "Help!" she reluctantly added. Oh, how she hated that word.

Zuko examined the situation, counting the opponents around him. Four, five … six. Hmm. With that, he shot one sword to the left, causing the agent he reached for to stumble back. With this advantage, he swept low and knocked him off his footing. He heard footsteps and took a swift step back, still leaning low. He swung both swords behind him, hearing them meet the armor of a Dai Li agent. He flung his other leg around and his swords soared through the air, his hand turning as he bashed an agent in the face with the hilt of a sword. He turned again, counting three left. He smirked inside his mask, pointing both swords together, diving under the legs of one agent. He surged to his feet behind the agent, his new boots put into practice as he brought his foot flying up into the groin of his enemy. He couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the crumpling man as he crashed the blunt sides of his Dao swords into the heads of the remaining agents, bringing their heads colliding into each other. He shot further down the halls, finding stairs that led down. Finally!

Katara smashed her hands flat against the door, still shouting. "Help! Let me out!" her knee crashed into the door.

Zuko heard distant banging. Flesh and bone against metal. Shouting also echoed through the dark dungeon corridors. Zuko ran toward the noise, noticing the world turning black as he made his way through. He made his way carefully through the dark, silent, avoiding discovery as he slid his swords back into the sheath on his back.

Katara flattened her hands over the metal door, pressing her cheek to the metal, now crying. "I want to go home." she murmured to herself, before inhaling a long breath and smashing her fist against the door, feeling its vibration on her face. "I want to go home!" she shouted into the door, tears trailing from her face down the door. She backed away from the door and pressed her back to the back wall of the cell. "_Let me out_!" her voice cracked as she screamed. "_Let me out! I want to go home!" _she screamed like child who'd had enough of a game. A sick game that left her in the dark.

Zuko came to the door that was emitting shouts and screams and sobs and clashes. He brought a flicker to a flame in his palm, covering the latch on the door. The lock turned a bright orange in his hand as he tugged it off the door. He pushed the door in and walked in, the flame in his hand having disappeared. The room itself was the darkest room he'd ever seen. With the door open he still couldn't see the source of the sobs. A flame suddenly flashed up in his hand, light pouring into the room. The sobbing subsided as the flash filled the room. A loud shout filled his senses as Katara covered her eyes and collapsed away from him.

Katara cried out, covering her eyes from the light. She pushed her palms into her eyes, turning her head away from the light. Zuko immediately let the flame in his hand go out, realizing how painfully bright it was for her. She'd had to be in the dark for days straight. He knelt down and approached her in the dark, tearing fabric from the leg of his black trousers. He folded the torn strip in his hand until it was thick. He reached out in the dark, his gloved hand meeting her face. He turned her away from him, tying the black fabric over her eyes, a small knot at the back of her head holding it over her eyes. He stood and helped her to her feet, guiding her out of the dark cell.

Katara swallowed nervously, taking the unfamiliar gloved hand. In the flash of pain she had endured in the brightness, she had seen the Blue Spirit. She realized where she'd recognized the mask from; a wanted poster she'd once seen. The fabric over her eyes stopped any light from attacking her sensitive eyes. The Blue Spirit was now her only protection. She was blind for the moment. This made her think of Toph.

She could hear swords smashing against powdery, dry earth as the Blue Spirit pulled her along the halls. She held his hand tightly as she heard Dai Li agents groaning and shouting. A swiping noise came extremely close to her ear as she felt the Blue Spirit knock her down. As he stood, he pulled her up with him and darted through the halls again. Katara felt her foot catching on the floor as he pulled her at warp speed. Her hand slipped out of his as she went down. She caught herself on her hands as the Blue Spirit grabbed her hand again. She felt him pull her to her feet and step away from her. She could sense him sheathing his swords. He slid his arm under her and swiftly pulled her off her feet. She put her hand on his shoulder as he carried her at a run.

Zuko panted under the mask, trying to find the way out. He wanted to find his mother, but Katara was nothing but a liability now. Despite that, he couldn't leave her, and that meant they needed to get out. Up the stairs, around a corner and down a long hall, Zuko could see the closed stairs. _Damn it! _He'd forgotten that he needed an earthbender to get out. Despite his lack of trust for Akio, he now wished he was here.

"I'm impressed." Long Feng's voice was behind him. With that, Zuko put Katara down on her feet. She backed and stuck herself to the wall.

Zuko drew his swords, turned and faced Long Feng.

"You have managed to elude my agents; not an easy task."

Zuko was sick of hearing Long Feng talking. He was so sick of his condescending voice, his smugness and his calmness. Zuko tightened his grip on his swords as he surged toward the old man. As Long Feng reached out to earthbend, Zuko smashed the hilt of the sword into his arm, breaking the bone. He swung himself around Long Feng, before crossing his blades at his throat. At the perfect moment, Dai Li agents came down the hall toward the scene. They paused, seeing Zuko's blades to their leader's throat. Zuko pulled one blade away and pointed to the closed stairway. He brought both blades into a single sword at Long Feng's throat, reaching for Katara and linking her hand to his back. Her fingers gripped his shirt as he brought the swords into two again, crossed at Long Feng's throat.

"Don't just stand there, open the stairs!" Long Feng squeaked.

Zuko smirked at his panic. The stairs opened behind him and he backed toward them, slowly, bringing Long Feng with him and carefully sending Katara back. Her foot came to the stairs as she stepped up and moved backwards. Zuko looked from one Dai Li agent to the next, Long Feng's throat exposed to his blades. He got to the top of the stairs, Katara still holding onto him. He thought for a moment. Was he ready to do this? In spite of himself, he'd never taken a life before.

He felt his stomach falling into his guts as he slashed Long Feng's throat. Blood spilled all over the stairs as he let go of the cadaver that fell and smashed into the lower steps. The Dai Li surged toward but the stairs closed in front of them, much to Zuko's surprise. He threw his head to look back. Akio was standing not far away.

"Any enemy of the Dai Li is a friend of mine." Akio spoke, holding his grip on the earth firmly, setting his feet into the ground as he struggled against the Dai Li.

He realized with Akio's words that he was still the Blue Spirit. He found some comfort in this.

"Akio!" Katara recognized his voice, turning her head to the voice she heard.

"Katara! What happened to your eyes?" he shouted over his struggle with the staircase.

"They kept me in the dark for La knows how long … the light is painful. The Blue Spirit here rescued me." Katara let go of Zuko.

Akio growled out, holding the earth with his feet. He suddenly crumbled to his knees and smashed both fists into the ground. At that moment, the earth shot up in the center of the Lake Laogai base, bringing up twelve Dai Li agents with it. He watched as the lake collapsed into the base, washing through it. Zuko's heart twisted; Ursa was still in there.

"No!" he heard a scream.

He turned around.

"What if he's still in there!" Ursa grabbed Akio's sleeve in panic.

Akio smirked. "He's not." He glanced at Zuko. Zuko immediately understood that Akio knew who he was.

"But what if he is?" Ursa tugged at Akio.

"I met up with Zuko earlier. He's fine." Akio told Ursa. "He was the first one to escape."

Zuko smiled slightly underneath his mask. He'd have to thank Akio later for keeping the secret. For now, he wanted to be the Blue Spirit, and he didn't know why.

"What? Where did he go?" Katara's voice suddenly interrupted.

Zuko's smile turned into a smirk.

"He … He didn't say." Akio's imagination was running short. "He said he'd find us. We've got to get away from here, out of Ba Sing Se."

"I have to go back to the apartment for something." Katara swallowed. Zuko knew what she wanted.

"You can't. It's too dangerous. Dong could be there." Akio answered.

"I have to. It's important." Katara reached behind her head to the knot of the eye coverings. Zuko brought his gloved hand to her hand, pushing it away from the knot. She felt him untie the knot and take the black fabric from her eyes. She blinked, adjusting to light out. It was the middle of the night, and only a crescent moon lit the sky, but it was still pretty bright for her. She turned and looked at Zuko. "Thank you. For helping me."

He just nodded.

"Okay, I'll take you to the apartment, but you, stay here and protect Ursa." Akio motioned to Zuko. "We'll meet up with you at dawn at the outer wall." He pointed to a specific point at the outer wall, off in the distance. "We'll get supplies and ostrich-horses."

Zuko nodded, approaching Ursa as Akio and Katara left. He turned his head and looked at Katara, making himself a dare; if not just to see how faithful Katara was to him.

**

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**A/N: I would have had it in probably Saturday morning, but I started it this then because I spent all Saturday sleeping in recovery for my all-nighter. UGH. Okay, time for upbeat enthusiasm, because I need it.**

**YAY! BLUTARA!**

**I'm so psyched to do this to my characters! LOLZ! He's going to tell everyone but Katara, just to be a little bit of a jerk. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want the Earth King to die, because Toph deserves her own kingdom, y'know? OH did you not LOVE me executing Long Feng? I know it was written a little gorily but I've always HATED him. **

**I'm going to describe Akio now, because there's a little doubt as to what you should think of when you think of him. He's tan, about Zuko's height with dark brown hair like Katara's that reaches his shoulderblades. His hair is tied in a low ponytail and he has dark brown eyes. He wears a loose-fitting dark green tunic with a thin black sash around his waist, and he wears faded beige trousers with ankle-height boots with buckles on the sides. I may or may not do an OC character drawing and put it on DeviantArt. I am considering it but I haven't done any deviant art before, so … whatever. I can do a pretty decent picture of Katara; not that it's relevant. His personality is somewhere between Toph's and Haru's. Like he has no problems with morals and stuff, but he's kind of nice and friendly.**

**This chapter's quote has to be an Iroh one, because we are thoroughly lacking in Irohness.**

**Iroh: **Is everything okay? It's been almost an hour and you haven't given the men an order.

**LOL he pretty much called Zuko bossy. LOVE YAS! **


	16. Chapter 16: Hot When You're Angry

Katara forced open the locked door and raced toward the mattress on the floor on the other side of the room. She lifted up the sleeping bags frantically. The rucksacks were gone. She dropped to her knees and looked over the mattress.

"What are you looking for?" Akio asked on the other side of the room.

"My mother's necklace."

Akio's jaw dropped. "A necklace? You're risking the whole operation for a necklace?"

"It's was my mother's. Shut up." Katara snapped, standing. "Don't tell me you haven't got anything of your fathers."

"No, I haven't. I make do with memories; like normal people. Come on, let's get supplies. This is stupid." He groaned, heading back out the door. Katara darted after him, past him and down the flight of stairs. "Where are you going?"

"Get supplies. I'll meet with you at the wall." She answered behind her.

He groaned and shook his head reluctantly. "No, I'm coming with you."

"I thought you said this was stupid." She stopped and turned.

"It is, but Lee- … _Zuko _would kill me if anything happened to you." He grumbled, following her.

Katara smiled briefly, before opening the ground floor door out onto the street, her eyes dancing up to the teashop. Either Dong had the necklace or Long Feng had had it. Being an optimist, she hoped it was with Dong, who she could easily take care of.

"But you have to help me do something afterwards."

"Deal." Katara answered without pause, pushing forwards, across the street and in a swift motion, pulling water from the potted plant on the veranda of the shop and slashing through the lock on the door. She leapt up the stairs and shoved the door open, Akio immediately behind her. She took a hesitant step deeper into the serving area, looking around in the dark. Akio walked past her and lifted up the large money sack on the counter.

"I'd say you deserve most of this." He tossed it at her.

Katara caught it and grunted slightly at its weight. This was probably Dong's cut of the money she had earned with Zuko. Had they really worked that long in Ba Sing Se? She counted. As far as she could remember, they'd only worked for two weeks. Perhaps Dong had been able to keep the business going while they were imprisoned; and who knew how long that had been?

She looked aside, to see a familiar grey bag on the coat hanger. It belonged to Mr. Dong. She grabbed it up and dropped the money purse into it, pulling it onto her shoulder. She marched through the dark archway that lead to the upstairs of the teashop, where presumably, Mr. Dong dwelled. Her feet pounded up the wooden stairs and she threw open the first door she saw. The dim candle in the room gave enough light to dully caress the edges of a Pai Sho table. She squinted, hearing Akio running up the stairs behind her. She took a moment to see all four corners of the room. It was well decorated and had two doors, probably leading to a bathroom and bedroom.

She tore the room apart.

Grabbing the lid of a chest in the corner, she shoved off all the books atop it, onto the floor. "Where is it?" she growled ferociously, having thrown the rest of the room into disarray.

Akio, by now, stood against the arch of the bedroom, having searched it. He doubted the necklace would be in the bathroom. "Maybe it's not here. Maybe he's got it on him. Water Tribe stuff is probably worth a lot around here."

Katara tossed her head and glared at him. He immediately piped down. Momentarily.

"It's obviously not here. Come on. Where would he be around now?"

Katara paused. "Why was the Blue Spirit even there?" she fell back to sit on the floor.

"I don't know." Akio yawned out a skillful lie.

"That's such a thoughtful answer, Akio." She snapped. "But think about it. I saw some wanted signs once; he's an assassin. Well, actually he's a crusader, but the Dai Li exploit skill like that."

"Your point?"

"Ugh. The Dai Li mission was to assassinate the Earth King. A masked man with the skill to slash a throat shows up at the Lake Laogai base and you're so … _aloof _that you can't even consider the possibility of him maybe being there to kill King Kuei? They could be plotting to have the King killed _tonight._"

"Well, your mission to rescue your necklace has obviously failed. Come on, we haven't got all night and I have some stuff of my own to do." Akio stalked past Katara toward the door.

Katara grumbled, standing up and following him. Zuko wouldn't be all that worried, right? Why trust _Akio _to protect her, anyway? Katara could take care of herself, and if she was fulfilling her mission of saving the Earth King, maybe he'd cut her some slack. Okay; she'd formulated a slight plan by now.

Akio led her through the dark streets for about five minutes before stopping at a slum building. He literally stopped, staring forwards at a rotting wooden door. Katara cleared her throat, but it didn't at all bring him to reality. He inhaled a heavy breath before dropping it as his arm came up reluctantly, his knuckles hitting the door loudly. Katara stood back as the door opened slowly.

An aged man stood before the boy, crossing his arms. "Akio." He lifted his chin with a deep, dark voice.

"Mr. Kiro San." Akio bowed slowly. He said nothing else, waiting for the older man's reply.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slam the door in your face right now." He said with a low rumble in his tone.

"I can't. I have no good reasons." He bowed his head still, standing straight, before finally looking to meet the man's gaze. "I have brought shame on your family, and no amount of money or labor can repay you for that. However, I must see your daughter."

"You must be joking, boy!" the man bellowed. "If I had my way you would never lay eyes on her again."

Akio nodded slowly. "I'm leaving Ba Sing Se tonight. I see no harm in one meeting with Lane if I'm leaving-,"

"I see plenty harm." He snapped. "Leave."

Akio paused and took a breath. "My affairs with Lane are the kind she is more than capable to handle. Why must you _constantly _interfere?" his voice had suddenly become authoritative. "If she wills me to leave, I will leave."

"She will do no such thing. She will not even know you were here." Mr. Kiro moved to shove the door shut in Akio's face, but he put his arm in the way.

Katara raised an eyebrow at the scene, listening as Akio spoke again. "Mr. Kiro!" was all he could manage.

"Leave, you foolish boy!" he growled, struggling to push the boy's hand away.

"Akio." Katara grabbed his forearm. He pulled his arm back with a furious grunt, staring at the slamming door.

"Why did you do that?" he snapped at Katara.

"You're acting like a child. You're going to get in a fist fight with an old man over this girl if you don't calm down."

"Right, tell that to his royal highness; it doesn't seem to be a problem for him." Akio grabbed the ledge above the door and pushed his foot against the handle of the door. Katara looked up, but said nothing. She stepped back and watched him pull his feet up onto the ledge above the door. He peered into the upper floor window, before quickly ducking. He felt the ledge cracking under his weight. He squinted and bit his lip, putting both hands on the wall and focusing on the cracks. It was far too detailed work for his (extremely low) skill level. He peered up over the window ledge and took it in his hands, pulling his weight up onto it. Katara, below, watched amusedly.

He turned to sit on the ledge. He knocked carefully on the translucent shutters. The one on the other side of the window opened as a girl appeared leaning out of the window, staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

"Akio, what are you doing?" she hissed. She was young, with side-braided, brunette hair and a medium complexion. She waited for an answer.

"Hi." Akio answered with a sheepish smile.

She glared at him. "Hi? That's what you've got to say to me?"

"Well, that was how I was planning to start." Akio shrugged. "Can we talk?"

She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Isn't that what we're doing?"

"I'm leaving Ba Sing Se." he blurted out tactlessly.

"And you wanted to say goodbye? Okay, bye, see you." She exhaled. This made him smile slightly.

"I want you to come with me." He answered, maintaining the smile. She slapped him. He clutched his stinging cheek, now hot from the impact.

"You're an idiot." She gritted her teeth. "You don't disappear for five months and show up ready to elope."

Katara raised an eyebrow. Wow, this guy was pretty stupid; despite being pretty sweet at some points in time.

"I'm sorry, Lane, I … I was scared." He stammered out. She slapped him again.

"And I'm not?" she finally raised her voice. She suddenly covered her own mouth.

"Lane?" there was a shout from down stairs.

"Yeah?" she called back.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, daddy!" she lied loudly. Akio smirked at her reply, despite holding his stinging face. There was a long pause between the time she called to her father and the time she spoke again to him. "I'm angry at you. You know that, right?" she crossed her arms.

"You're hot when you're angry." He answered simply, leaning in toward her. She slapped him once more, but he continued to smile. "Come with me."

"Where exactly do you plan to go?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Kyoshi Island." He answered plainly. "Or Omashu. Or Gaoling. I don't know, what do you want?"

She smirked slowly. "Islands have beaches, right?"

He nodded smarmily. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a maybe. I'm still deciding. You have to make it up to me."

"I'm your servant." He bowed his head jokingly.

"Good; you'll be carrying my bag." She disappeared into the room. "And get off the window."

Akio glanced down at Katara with the same smirk on. "She's a real keeper, don't you think?" Katara answered with a smile as he jumped off the top ledge and landed on his feet before her. He turned to look up at the window. He waited for a minute before she threw a heavily packed bag down at him. He caught it and threw it over his shoulder.

"Daddy, I'm taking out the trash." They faintly heard inside, before the door opened.

Katara felt her mouth falling loosely open at the heavily pregnant girl appearing. She was only slightly older than Katara herself. No wonder the girl's father was _pissed. _The girl wore a loose green tunic tied just under her chest that draped over her bump and came just over her behind, loose Capri tartan trousers, and no shoes on. Katara reminded herself to shut her mouth.

"Come on." She managed out.

"Who's this?" Lane looked from Akio to Katara.

"Ursa's friend." Akio shrugged, moving to put an arm around Lane. Lane pushed his arm away and glared at him.

"I still haven't forgiven you." She cleared her throat and smiled momentarily at Katara. Katara led the way down the street until they got to the market. She set her sights on three ostrich-horses tied to a hitching post near a familiar bar.

**

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"I still think you should think this through a little more." Ursa crossed her arms as Zuko held the Blue Spirit mask in his lap, leaning against the base of the great wall.

"Probably. I don't usually do things just because I want to; and this trip was supposed to be a vacation, so …"

"Right." Ursa patted him on the shoulder. "Of course, until you explain to Katara, she'll be worrying whether or not you're dead." She made a valid point.

Zuko didn't answer, but shrugged slightly, sharpening the blade of one sword against the other.

"You can probably put those away now, you know." Ursa sat down next to him. Zuko put them together and slid them into the sheath on his back.

"There's an assassin at the palace attempting to kill the Earth King right now. He's waiting on me. If I went, I could probably extort some information from him." He drummed his fingers against the wall, agitated.

"Well why aren't you there right now then?"

"Because I can't leave you alone," Zuko replied with a slight smile.

"Zuko, I am quite capable to protect myself. I've lived in the slums of Ba Sing Se for years now, remember?"

Zuko pulled a lopsided smile. "Still."

Ursa smiled back and shook her head. "Your hair is obviously long enough to be tied back." She cleared her throat.

Zuko laughed quietly. He shrugged and yawned. "Katara likes it out." He felt a blush creeping across his face.

"Ah. Right." She nodded with a smirk. "It's for the ladies, then."

"Lady." He corrected her.

She beamed at him proudly. "So what's your _official _girlfriend's name?" Zuko felt himself choking on his own oxygen as he glanced at his mother.

"Huh?"

"A mother knows these things." She smiled softly, a few lines of age folding at the edges of her eyes.

Zuko sighed and shook his head. "Mai."

Ursa's smile dropped. "You have to be joking. That little depressed girl Azula used to hang around with." She stated. "How on earth did _that _happen?"

At this, Zuko shrugged and smiled at her slightly. "I don't know … it just seemed like the next logical step. Everyone kind of expected her to end up Firelady."

"So you _married _her?" Ursa was shocked.

Zuko choked on his air again. "No! I mean … no, it's … it's really complicated." He rubbed his face.

"And how does the waterbender fit into this complication?" she crossed her arms.

"That's actually the complicated part. I love Katara, and she's involved with the Avatar, and I'm involved with Mai … Ugh, I can't think about this now." He groaned, pushing away from the base of the wall and standing up.

Ursa nodded, standing up also. "Look." She pointed toward the city center. Zuko looked, seeing Katara, Akio and a heavily pregnant woman walking toward them, each leading a packed out ostrich horse. "Oh, spirits." She breathed at the sight of Lane, as Zuko pulled his mask back on, pulling up the hood on his dark shirt. Through the eyeholes of the wooden mask, Zuko saw a dark assailant swooping in from the roof of a building, toward the trio. His eyes settled on the hook-swords in the assailant's hands and he recognized the character's movement.

Jet. He was the 'partner' that had been waiting for him, apparently. His swords made a satisfying slicing sound against each other as he drew them from his back. He felt the first sparks of sunlight, despite not being able to see them over the great wall of Ba Sing Se. Energy flooded into his veins and he dashed forwards, his swords slicing into the air impressively.

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**A/N: Hey! I'm SO sorry it's so late. Guess what I got for my birthday? Writer's block. ARGH! So, I've finally had a go at this. I keep kicking myself into considering doing a oneshot, but I keep putting it off. It's times like these where I regret missing Zutara week. Sometimes you just need that extra little kick of creativity, you know? This calls for an extra special quote, as a reward for bearing with the long wait!**

******Toph:** _(dramatically)_ Oh Sokka, you saved me. _(plants a big kiss on Suki's cheek)_  
**Suki:** Actually, it's me.  
**Toph:** _(fatally embarrassed)_ Oh…well…heheh . _(limply) _You can go ahead and let me drown now. 

**And this one is because It's so late. Thank you and good night! REVIEW ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED!**

******Iroh:** So, Smellerbee, that's an unusual name for a young man.  
**Smellerbee:** _(peeved)_ Maybe it's because I'm not a man. I'm a girl! (_shoots Iroh a look, rises and walks off)_  
**Iroh:** _(calling after her)_ Oh, now I see! It's a beautiful name for a lovely girl!  



	17. Chapter 17: From Green To Blue To Gold

A hooksword clashed against the Blue Spirit's left blade as its controller came crashing onto his back. The Blue Spirit stood over Jet with a sword pointed down over his throat. It was only then that Katara recognized the other swordsman.

"Jet!" she gasped, her eyebrows coming down. "But … you died. You died in front of me." She looked confused.

Jet, winded, shoved The Blue Spirit's sword out of his face and let go of the hookswords in his hands, dropping them into the sand. "The Dai Lee took me to one of the King's healers. I don't know how they did it either." He blinked up at the masked man. He stood and dusted himself off, looking at Katara. "What are you doing in Ba Sing Se?"

"What are _you_? You nearly killed me." Katara crossed her arms.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was supposed to kill the king, with your new friend's help. He didn't show up and the king went missing, so …"

The Blue Spirit sheathed his swords, his blank stare initiating what looked like a silent question.

"I wasn't actually going to kill him. I was just waiting around to see what you knew." Jet looked at Zuko.

Katara blinked in confusion, before shaking her head. "Akio. Did Zuko say where he was going to find us?" she looked to the earthbender.

Akio shrugged. "My guess is as good as yours."

"You're working with the _Fire Nation?" _Jet spat, looking Katara up and down.

"The war is over, Jet. It has been for months." She reached and put a hand on his shoulder. "Why are you working with the Dai Lee?"

"It's good money." He shrugged. "My freedom fighters took off after your little bald friend." He hissed with annoyance.

Katara raised an eyebrow, taking her hand back and crossing her arms again. "Okay, well, we'll be leaving now." She snapped, leaning away from him.

"What about the Earth King? We don't know what happened to him, yet. He could need help." Akio glanced from Katara to Jet, almost trying to decipher which one to trust.

Katara nodded reluctantly. "What do you know?" she switched into interrogation mode.

"I don't know much, but I have a theory." Jet kicked up his swords and grabbed them in midair. He slid them into their holders on his back. "He wouldn't go with anyone unless he trusted them or he was forced to. So that means, either the army is corrupted, or the Dai Lee got to him before anyone else could. I'm going with the second one."

He removed the piece of hay from his mouth and used it to point at Katara in thought.

"The palace is located on top of a diverse tunnel maze that leads to what most of old Ba Sing Se became after New Ba Sing Se was built; the sewers. The Dai Lee probably took him there to get him out of Ba Sing Se. The only way out, bar for through immigration, is via the sewers. They go underground for miles until they reach a point just east of the Serpent's Pass." he put his hay stand back in his mouth.

Katara smirked. He had never been bad at conjugating plans, anyway. "Impressive." She tilted her head slightly. "They're going to decide where they go from there. If we get there before them and head them off, we can rescue the Earth King, defeat the rest of the Dai Lee, bring the king back here-," she paused as Akio put a hand on her shoulder and cleared his throat.

"You want to sit down a second?" was all he said.

Katara pulled a face and shrugged of his hand, before taking a deep breath. She looked around her, from Akio, to Ursa, who had approached while they talked, to Lane, to Jet, and finally to the Blue Spirit. "Okay, we need to start moving. We don't know whether they're already on the move or not, and first we have to get out of Ba Sing Se."

"No need to tell me twice." Akio grabbed the horn of the saddle on the nearest ostrich horse, swinging his leg over and sitting high above them. Lane offered him her hand as he helped her up and sat sidesaddle in front of him.

Katara approached another ostrich horse and climbed up onto it, holding out her hand to Ursa, who gladly took it and climbed on behind her. The Blue Spirit took the last ostrich horse and looked down at Jet. There was _no _way he was going to touch that psycho conspiracy theorist. He wouldn't do so with a ten-foot barge pole if he could help it.

"Thanks for your help, Jet." Katara peered down at him through thin, slits of blue.

"You say that as if it's a goodbye." Jet brought his hand up to his mouth and put his thumb and forefinger either side of the underside of his tongue. Just in time, Katara grabbed the reins of her ostrich horse to keep it from going crazy, and shut her eyes as if it would protect her ears from the loud whistle that escaped Jet's mouth. The Blue Spirit grasped his reins skillfully in one gloved hand, his other one moving down to the animal's feathered wither to calm it. Akio struggled to keep his animal from shooting out from beneath him, his … er, _Lane_, and his unborn child.

A powerful, muscular ostrich horse came at a gallop toward the group. They thought it had passed Jet, but as the animal moved to the front of their pack, they saw Jet climbing into the saddle of the black and white creature as it moved. He took the rein and flung himself over the saddle, looking back at Katara with a smirk on.

"So what was your plan for getting out of Ba Sing Se?" he called from the front.

"We didn't have one." Katara kicked the ostrich horse into a trot, glancing over her shoulder at Ursa, who clung to the saddle beneath them with her fingernails.

"Okay, so we go my way." Jet assumed smarmily.

"Which is?" Katara adjusted her grip on the worn rein.

Further behind, Akio moved the animal toward the Blue Spirit and his mount. He produced a small bottle of condensed herbs and outstretched it to him.

"Here." He said as the other man took it and looked at it. "It'll disguise your voice. It's better than guessing what you've got to say to that jerk off."

The Blue Spirit laughed silently, before uncorking the bottle and knocked back one of the pills, dry swallowing it. It started to dissolve in his mouth and coated every part of his throat. He put the bottle away and nodded at Akio thankfully, as he glanced at the unimpressed woman clinging to the earthbender.

"Ugh. That's disgusting." He spoke with a throaty rasp, shaking his head to get rid of the taste. "Where did you get that stuff?"

Akio shrugged slightly. "I know a guy. Sip of water will fix it. Don't eat or it'll start to wear off." Akio pointed a finger at Zuko. "And kissing is ill-advised, due to its taste." He joked with a smug look on his face. Lane shook her head as he said it.

At this, he could tell Zuko was pulling a face of annoyance as he cantered the hybrid beneath him toward the two mounted teenagers arguing on separate mounts.

**

* * *

**

Despite being able to talk due to the herb, Zuko was relatively quiet. Perhaps he was listening in on what Jet and Katara had to say to each other, or maybe he didn't like the sensation of the coating of his throat, but he stayed mostly quiet for the entire journey out of Ba Sing Se. That, he marveled, had been too stupid for words. He saw the peak of the serpent's pass up ahead as the sun blared overhead in the sky.

"Do you think we'll get there before them?" Ursa asked from the ostrich horse riding parallel to Zuko's.

"Probably would have if we hadn't pulled that stupid stunt in immigration." Katara hissed before Zuko could answer.

Ursa frowned at Zuko as if to say 'how do you cope with this', and Zuko simply shrugged, shifting his position on the reins. "It doesn't matter anyway. We've got plenty of earth, a body of water, four swords altogether and if worse comes to worse, we can scare them off with the temper on her." He let go of the reins with one hand and gestured his thumb over his shoulder at Lane on Akio's mount, a little further behind them. Katara smirked, despite it not having been a joke.

"A _firebender_ would be nice too, since we've got a great freaking _sun _here." She grumbled, just loud enough to hear. "Stupid … I'm going to kill him." She looked over her shoulder to Ursa.

Ursa looked at Zuko, and she didn't really need to make a facial expression to extend her message of 'by the way, you probably shouldn't be playing dress-up right now'. Zuko grimaced and took the rein in both hands again. Yep, Katara certainly had a point. However, he was on vacation. He was going to do what he wanted, even if it bothered her to the ends of the earth. Ursa seemed to read his mind, shaking her head and looking past Katara to the mouth of serpent's pass.

"Look!" Jet shouted from just behind them, riding up between the two animals. "There they are." He seemed to chew harder on the piece of forage protruding from his mouth as he pointed up toward the small group of green and black clad people moving onto it. They carried a man-sized box between six of them, the rest crowding around to protect it.

"Oh, _shit_." Akio rode up to them. "Is the _king _in that _box_?" he asked incredulously.

Katara's mouth had fallen open as she asked herself the same question. "You two, go, we'll catch up." She looked to Jet, and then to the Blue Spirit. Without a word, the two galloped up the rest of the way. As they did this, Ursa instinctively climbed off the animal and went to help Lane down. The two women waved dust away as Katara and Akio took off after the other two.

Katara took advantage of being on solid ground, swatting a few of them into the water with tendrils of her element, before they dropped the box roughly onto the dirt and began fighting with Jet and Zuko, who were already deep into close-range combat. Akio jumped off the animal, turned it to Ursa and Lane and gave it a hard slap on the flanks, sending it cantering toward them, before dodging an attack from an agent and knocking him on his back. He stamped down onto the earth, bringing up dusty constraints that pinned the agent down.

Zuko took down his share of agents by knocking them into the water, whilst Jet first killed and then disposed of the bodies. There were two agents left. No problem. Katara and Akio had joined them on the pass, and it seemed like things were going fine. An agent lifted a foot onto the box. Everything happened in slow motion as the box was kicked over the edge. It hit against the cliff side, breaking. The King could be seen limply falling into the water.

The mission was failed.

Even so, as Akio and Jet took down the agents, the Blue Spirit watched down at the water as a fully clothed waterbender dove down into the water. She'd pushed herself away from the cliff with her feet, and she managed to avoid any jagged rocks by kicking her feet at them. She hit the water with barely a splash, slipping into it and delving down into its depths. Zuko doubted she would even find the cadaver. He also doubted she'd even seen that he was dead before the box had broken.

Katara took a breath as the water split open before her. As water enveloped her, she began slowly exhaling out under the surface. It was cold. Despite the hot sun, it was freezing, and she was reminded that winter was well on its way. She opened her eyes, seeing nothing but darkness around her. She thought she may have gone blind, when she saw the blue above her emanating light. She could see better now. She let her legs get under her as she focused on different parts of the water.

A flash of dark wood caught her eyesight. It had to be part of the box. She swam after it, deeper into the darkness, deeper into the water. Her hand met something warmer in the water as she reached in front of her. She pulled on it and it became a cold, dead face in front of her. Earth King Kuei had been dead before hitting the cliffs, she realized. A slash at his throat revealed that. As she'd pulled him so she could see, his head had tilted back, blood spouting into the water in front of her.

She tried to pull away, but her hand was frozen over the King's dress robes. She finally snapped her hand back, her eyes staring at the body sinking into the blackness. Only then did she feel the Earth King's green beads in her hand. The string snapped and the beads hovered around her as she realized she was running out of air. She pushed her feet to aim herself toward the surface of the water as her hair came free in her face.

She took a desperate breath as her head left the water. Had her head left the water? She opened her eyes to see more blue. She blinked erratically as she tried to think. Was she drowning? _Is this what drowning feels like? _She swallowed some water, despite not being able to breathe. _How pathetic is this? I'm drowning. I'm a waterbender and I'm drowning. Idiot. How stupid are you, Katara? _She started fighting it. She started grabbing for the light above her and kicking viciously to get into the air.

She saw dead eyes. Emerald green and lacking pupils, staring at her in the dark depths of the abyss.

But then they weren't green anymore. They were blue. And instead of an open mouth, gaping at her, it was a warm, soft smile on tan skin with a face framed by loose strands of hair. The blue eyes crinkled with crow's feet, and a defined dimple in one cheek. The fading blues of the water became the soft blue of the hide tent she'd grown up in. Her mother smiled at her.

What she would do to reach out and touch the face she saw.

Katara stopped fighting it. Her hand stayed firmly shut on the beads that stayed in her hand, and she shut her eyes slowly, her mouth relaxing to the water, trusting herself to its pushing and pulling.

But then the blue eyes became golden, and that was all it took for her to start fighting again, using her bending to push the water from her head with one hand and using her legs to push herself out of the water. She grabbed hold of the jagged rocks and heaved herself over the edge, turning to sit on the edge of the path. She looked down at the waters, before shutting her eyes and coughing up a mouthful of water. She was sopping wet, and if she'd had any willpower left, she'd have bent it away. A shadow came over her and she turned to look.

The Blue Spirit held his hand out to her. She stood up of her own accord and without meeting his eyes, she put the handful of green beads into his hand, walking away and hugging herself tightly.

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY. I know, I know, it's taken ages. I know Lane was completely SILENT in this, but ... okay, I have no excuse. On the plus side, uh ... riiiggghhhttt... Yeah, this is pretty miserable at the end, huh? I'm going for a thing where we don't exactly get to see what's going through Katara's head, but Zuko tries to figure it out.**

**Oh, before I give you the quote, oORebexxaOo on deviantart has done a sketch thing of one of my favorite scenes in this, the 'i dare you' moment. She really nailed how I pictured Katara's hair, and I actually kind of liked her deviation of Zuko's vest, better than the idea I had. Copy and paste this to your browser to see it.**

**.com/art/Zutara-I-Dare-You-189022625  
**

**Okay here's the quote, please review! :)**

**Aang: It's okay, Katara, It's not your fault.**

**Iroh: Well, yeah ... it kinda is.**

**LOL I love Iroh xxxx Love!**


	18. Chapter 18: You Can Try

Katara poked through her bowl for something worth putting in her mouth. She eventually put the bowl down in front of her, dropping her hands into her lap as she sat cross-legged in a circle with everyone else. She looked to her right, where Akio had Lane's head in his lap as she curled up to him, then to her left, where Jet and Ursa were in a heated disagreement as to why there was a separation between two classes in Ba Sing Se. Surprisingly, neither of the scenes managed to make her smile. The night had fallen over the campsite, and the moon hung high in the sky, half of it hidden from the world.

She picked up the bowl yet again, poking through it for something worth tasting. Again, she realized there was no point. She looked across the campfire in the middle of the circle, seeing the blue mask that had offered her solace earlier that morning. He was watching her with just as much fascination as Katara had for the bowl of rice in her hands, which strangely was quite a bit.

She noticed he wasn't eating his food either. It sat in a wooden bowl in front of him, completely untouched.

"Hey, are you going to eat that?" Jet elbowed him suddenly. He simply turned his head and glared at him through the mask, and Jet immediately backed off and turned back to Ursa.

Katara looked down, and then took a breath, before standing up and throwing the bowl down in defeat. The rice scattered across the dirt floor as Jet shouted after her.

"Hey, I could have eaten that!"

She turned her head to give him a last glare, before walking away with a look of emptiness on her face. Akio and Ursa both looked to Zuko and raised an eyebrow each. He glanced between them with a shrug. "What?" he asked.

"Are you going to talk to her?" Akio asked, before shoveling a spoonful of rice into his mouth.

"No. Why?"

"Why not?" Ursa answered, putting her bowl down.

"I don't know her. You go." Zuko looked to Akio. He was making it up, yes, and he had other reasons not to go too, most of them involving that she had threatened to kill him that morning, but this way it was just simpler.

"Hey, I don't know her either." Akio shrugged, poking through his bowl.

"I'll go." Jet immediately sat up straight, moving to get up. "Me and Katara go _way _back."

At this, Zuko shot up to his feet in a quick movement. "On second thought." He glared down at Jet, not even having to finish. He walked around Lane and Akio, following Katara. He found her standing at the edge of the water, using her bending in a furious fashion. She whipped at invisible opponents in the water with thick slashes of her element, extending from her arm's motions. "Hey." Was all he said.

Katara turned and looked at him, before facing the water again with another snap of the waterwhip. "Hey." She answered emotionlessly. It reminded him of Mai.

"Can I ask you something?" he leant against a large boulder.

"Knock yourself out." She dropped the whip, drawing up an orb of water. She swirled it into a stream and lunged it forwards, freezing it into ice shards.

"You're a waterbender. So you're a good swimmer."

"I'm from the south pole. How much time do you think I spent swimming there, genius?" Katara answered, her back to him.

"Okay, you can use your bending to keep yourself from drowning. And yet you came up and you were coughing up water."

"Your point being?" she frowned angrily, looking at him finally.

He paused. "Did you give up or something?" he crossed his arms. "Because that's the only logical solution I can think of, short of creepy mythical squids or octopi."

"I had a panic attack." Katara turned back to the water and pulling a thin sliver out, she snapped the head of it in liquid form, its end becoming hard ice beads that splashed into the lake.

Zuko was silent. Katara continued talking.

"I've never seen that much blood before." She dropped her water, her hands falling to her sides. "It just … I panicked, and … I froze up." She simplified.

"Hm." Zuko approached her slowly. "Are you okay?" as soon as the words were out, he cursed them. Of course she wasn't.

"No." she snapped, turning fully to face him. "My mission here was to keep the Earth King from getting killed and bring down the Dai Lee. I failed that mission. And _Zuko _took off."

"I don't think he wanted to take off."

"The point remains, he took off, I'm with a bunch of strangers and an idiot, the mission is failed, the Dai Lee are probably still intact, and here I am feeling sorry for myself," she lifted her hands to her face and rubbed her temples slowly. "It's pathetic, and _nothing_ is _okay_." She looked up and glared at him. "Not now."

For a second, he wished he wasn't under a mask; just so he could hug her and tell her everything was going to be fine, but he'd sucked himself into something stupid now. _'Idiot' _he told himself.

"I know you're trying to help, but really, what I need right now … is to _beat _the living _hell _out of something." She clenched her fists at her sides. "Like hogmonkey over there." She glanced past him to the campsite, referring to Jet.

Now, Zuko wasn't one to pry or anything, but this was something he wanted to know. "So what, is he an ex-boyfriend or something?"

"Something like that." She grumbled. "This is _so _pathetic." She lashed out at the water near her, and it sank inwards as if she'd hit it with an invisible sword. She looked back to him. His arms were crossed and he looked at her with no emotion apparent through his mask. "What about _you _then? Are you just some rogue patriot or have you got an ulterior motive for breaking me out of there?"

"I have a thing for damsels in distress." Zuko smirked inside his mask.

"Great." Katara grumbled. "Where you from?" she added curiously.

Zuko was ready for this. "Don't do that. You think you can figure out who I am by asking me loads of questions you're sure I didn't see coming." He crossed his arms carefully.

Katara scoffed a laugh. "You're good." She noted, looking up to the sky. "I'm going to bed." She examined the stars. "We've got to cross this pass tomorrow with as little camp-stops as possible. The best places to camp are the highest ones." She thought aloud, walking past him, toward the campsite. "Night, Blue." She added.

"Night." Zuko replied, his gaze tilting up to the sky. The stars were visible; that meant it would be sunny tomorrow. Maybe this Blue Spirit stuff was getting too risky. It would probably be best for him to find a way for them to not see that Blue and Zuko were one and the same. Damn; he couldn't think about all this now. He'd sleep and think about it tomorrow.

The next morning, the sun shone down harshly from the highest point in the sky as they woke up. Katara cursed that she'd missed so much sunshine with her sleeping, but all the same, packed the camp onto the ostrich-horses and gathered her crew to mount up. They got about an hour up the pass, perhaps two miles into it, before Katara tried to make conversation, as the voices and thoughts in her own head were going stir-crazy.

"So, Lane; how far along are you?" she asked conversationally to the girl on the ostrich horse behind hers.

"I'm overdue by a week." Lane answered thoughtfully. "It probably isn't smart for me to be traveling with you; I'm going to slow you down."

Katara tilted her head one way, then the other as if thinking about this. "No, I've delivered plenty of babies. It would be better with the right herbs, though. As long as we get across the pass before you go into labor, we should be fine." She kicked her heels into her ostrich horse to keep it going. Ursa seemed to be dozing off behind her.

"Why have you delivered babies?" Lane scoffed a laugh, as if at the irony and state of the world.

"I'm from the South Pole. I was the only waterbender there, so … It just became my job. And one I delivered on this pass, ironically. We were traveling to Ba Sing Se during the war, we had tickets, but there was this family who'd had their stolen. So Aang, that's the avatar, he decided we'd escort them across to Ba Sing Se."

"Well, then, I have no intention of repeating history." Lane gripped onto the horn of the saddle.

They fell back into silence, shuffling along the path at a snail's pace by nightfall, as the cold settled on the desert pass. The animals were hungry and tired, and their riders were falling asleep at the rein. When they stopped to camp, Katara didn't think she'd walk straight ever again with how sore her behind was. It was the same story with everyone else. Zuko discreetly began the fire, and they all took their places around it, Katara beginning to cook them some plain rice to eat. It was the last of the food.

"So, Ursa; if you could make one new law in the Fire Nation, or get rid of one old one, what would you do?" Jet asked curiously, warming his hands by the fire.

"I would call against the Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell of the Fire Nation Militia."

The Blue Spirit choked and looked up at Ursa. "You're pro-homosexual?" he shook his head incredulously.

"I'm pro-human. It's exactly the same as the discrimination some Fire Nationals still hold against the other nations. It was Ozai who instilled such a rule, and we've all come to the decision he made some terrible decisions, no?" Ursa held her hands apart as if making a statement to the public. She held a very good point.

"True, I guess. It _would_ encourage the growing number of homosexuals to join the army. I suppose the military rules could change, now that were not in wartime." Zuko thought about it. "And they need as many soldiers as possible on the anti-nationalism patrol."

Akio leant forward to ask a question. "You seem to know your politics well; what's the difference between patriotism and nationalism?" he scratched his head in thought.

"It's a thin and blurring line." The Blue Spirit explained. "Patriotism is supporting your country and its traditions, Nationalism is the skewed belief that _your _country is superior to all others. It's the reason that the Fire Nation began the war."

"Right." Akio nodded in thought. "And what's the terrorism like in the Fire Nation?"

Zuko made a face beneath his mask that the others couldn't see. "Uh … well, worse now with the global change in government. _Sozinians_ they call themselves, the terrorists." He explained. "Why?"

Akio seemed to be thinking. "What's the real-estate like there?"

Lane exhaled in exasperation. "I'm not going to live in the Fire Nation, Akio; she just said there's segregation and discrimination there still going on. I'm not having my baby growing up like that."

Ursa smiled apologetically. "I hope one day members of all nations will be able to live wherever they please, without racism and partide."

"Me too." Katara spoke up, serving rice into wooden bowls. "I still get funny looks in the Fire Nation capitol. Some people are even afraid to make eye-contact with me."

"That happens; they are afraid that you will believe they are just staring at your ethnicity." Ursa explained. "They're trying _not _to be racist, as it were."

"Yeah." Katara answered. "They'll talk to me until they see my eyes. There are dark people there, even with brown hair. They get all jittery when they see my eyes."

"Maybe that's just because they're pretty." The Blue Spirit couldn't help himself but to say. "Plenty of people get jittery around pretty girls. Even me."

Katara smiled softly. "You say that like it's below you, Blue. What are you, only half-human or something?"

"There you go again, trying to figure out my identity."

Katara laughed and handed out the bowls of rice. "I'll get you."

"You'll try."

The next morning, everyone was up at what, if they had such a candle, would have called ten-o-candle. All except for Lane, who hadn't left her tent, even after everything else was packed up onto the ostrich-horses. Katara looked to Akio, who shrugged unknowingly, then glanced from one to the other of the rest of the crew. "I'll check on her." She approached the tent and peeked in.

_Shit._

Lane was sweating, clutching the sheets in both hands and twisting so hard they would stretch. Katara pulled a face and climbed into the tent. "When did it start?"

"Daybreak." Lane grunted out through gritted teeth.

Katara pushed open one of the tent flaps. "I need sheets, towels, a knife and a bucket of heated water!" she yelled to the others. Herbs would've been nice, but she knew something was wrong, and she'd have to act fast. The others scattered and grabbed for everything she'd asked for, the Blue Spirit grabbing a bucket and beginning the descent down the rocky side-path toward the water below.

* * *

**A/N: IT. HAS. BEEN. FOREVER. I am so sorry; it's been ages! I haven't really known where I wanted to go from where I left it. It's been at least three months, probably more. No humor this time; just dark-twistiness. I like Katara calling Zuko 'Blue'. It's kinda cool. Just a random thing I have to say; my laptop has NO sound at all. The soundcard or something is disconnected, I think. It hasn't had sound for at least two years, still hasn't been repaired 'cuz Macs are expensive to repair. I may have to give up my laptop soon to send it for repair, which will mean a hiatus in my writing. Won't be long though; possibly a week at the most.**

**Anyway, I don't know how far I can take this, it started as my first fic, and I've evolved since then. While it's arguably my best-known, It's not as good as some of the other stuff I do, by my own opinion. I'm seriously considering putting it up for adoption, or writing a quick, cut-off end-chapter or something. The storyline has become too messy and loose-ended for my liking, and I agree that what I've done with Zuko is really stupid. It's a lot to think about. So I'll think about it tomorrow.**

**Okay, well, here's a quote for you!**

**Iroh**: The crew wanted me to wish you safe travels.

**Zuko**: Good riddance to those traitors.

**Iroh**: It's a lovely night for a walk. Why don't you join me? It would clear your head. _(Iroh's smiles falls away as Zuko refuses to respond.)_ Or, just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy.


End file.
